Wisdom from the Lord’s Prayer (Part II of III)

(Part II of III)

Matthew 6:10 “ Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.” The kingdom of God is a society upon earth where God’s will is as perfectly done as it is in heaven. In a societal sense, obviously, the completion of the kingdom of God is still in the future and is still something for which we must pray. But the kingdom of God is not something which primarily has to do with nations. The kingdom is something that has to do with each one of us. The kingdom is in fact the most personal thing in the world. The kingdom demands the submission of our will, our hearts, and our lives. The kingdom comes only when each one of us makes his or her personal decision and submission to Jesus as Savior and Lord.

Some of the most important words in the world, are “Thy will be done.” When we pray “Thy will be done,” we are not resigning ourselves to some obscure fate, but praying that God’s perfect purpose will be accomplished in this world and in our own lives.

The prayer for God’s “… will to be done” could not be demonstrated more fully than when Jesus was in Gethsemane, pleading for release from suffering, but adding the overriding prayer for the Father’s will, rather than His own will, to be done (Mark 14:36). No man or woman can remember Gethsemane and look at the Cross and doubt the love of God, and when we are sure of the love of God, it is easy to say, “Thy will be done.”

Matthew 6:11, “Give us this day our daily bread.” This part of the Lord’s Prayer teaches us to pray for our immediate necessities, for what we need for the coming day. It teaches us to live one day at a time, and not to worry and be anxious about the distant and unknown future. Note that the prayer is not for cake, or wine, or luxuries, but for bread, and that for only one day at a time.

And do not overlook the pronoun “our.” One should not pray for my daily bread but for “our daily bread.” Over and over, this prayer teaches us never to be selfish in our prayers. This prayer is not only a prayer that we may receive “our daily bread” (or necessities), it is also a prayer that implies we should share “our daily bread” with others.

Next time: Forgiveness, temptation and the power of God, all considered, in the conclusion to “Wisdom from the Lord’s Prayer.”