The Lord's Prayer, Pt. 2

Thy kingdom come...

This is one prayer, I realized the other day, that has never been answered for anyone during the past 2000 years. Such people as Peter, Paul, Origin, Augustine, Luther, Spurgeon, Whitfield, Tozer, Havner, have all prayed for God’s kingdom to come and it hasn’t yet; not in its fullness and not in its permanence.

But there is a sense in which God’s kingdom has come and, while we wait for it’s coming, is coming. In Matt. 12.28, Jesus said, “…the kingdom of God has come upon you.”.

What does it take to have a kingdom? It takes a realm, a people, and a king. To the degree that we submit to our King, listen to Him and follow His lead, His kingdom is here now. When we walk in the fullness of His Spirit, His kingdom is here!

Thy will be done…

How is God’s will done in heaven? Fully, joyfully, and instantly. Jesus is teaching us to pray that the same way God’s will is done in heaven, so His will be done here. Doing God’s will is often something we do, but we do it grudgingly. We need to develop an attitude that is like the inhabitants of heaven, while waiting on earth.

Give us this day…

Jesus is certainly talking about food here. But more than that, He is referring to what we need; nothing more and nothing less. We can trust God to supply for both today and tomorrow, but only when tomorrow comes.

As a counselor, I run into people all the time who want more than their daily bread. They want life to be clearly, perpetually, and adequately supplied for and they want to be able to see it. But Jesus is teaching us to live by faith. Trusting God to supply for each day and each day only.

Part 3 to follow...