“Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” Matt. 6:10
Jesus, in the “Lord’s prayer,” gave His disciples a pattern for daily fellowship with God in prayer.
Our tendency is to be preoccupied with our needs and concerns instead of God and his plans. Jesus turns this around and begins with God and his concerns:
- Hallowed by your name.
- Your kingdom come
- Your will be done
After praying for God’s glory, i.e. for His name to be hallowed, we turn our attention to God’s kingdom. May it come, O Lord! we pray.
This prayer has a two-fold sense. It is, of course, a prayer for Jesus’ return and the establishment of God’s kingdom in all its glory. When that happens, the Father’s will actually will be “done on earth as it is in heaven.”
But the prayer also has a present dimension. It is a prayer of submission to God and His will. Jesus is my king. His kingdom or rule is present in my life. Lord, we pray, Let your will be done in my life today. This requires a giving up my will and submitting to God’s will for us.
Each day, when we meet with God, we begin with Worship and Praise. Then we submit our will to His.
“Heavenly Father,” we can say, “in my life, in what happens today, I want you to be praised. I want people to see who you are and how great you are.” “In my life today, and in the lives of people I come into contact with today, I want your reign to come, to be made manifest.” “In my life, in all I do today, I want your will to be done, not mine. Whatever you wish, let it happen, just as it happens in heaven.”
Day after day come to God in submission, lay down your will and submit yourself to Him. “Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness…” (Matthew 6:33)
