The Lord’s Prayer 3 ‘Your kingdom come, Your will be done’

Prayer Prayer: ‘The habit of being in God’s presence’. Prayer is the primary way of drawing close to Jesus for the Christian. – Remember Your Easter Day commitment! Put this message into Practice! Pray!

Matthew 6v9-13 Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name, Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom, and the power and the glory for ever. Amen. (NIV)

God first, then ourselves Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name, Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. (NIV)

‘Your will be done’ Hallowed be Your name: – God’s name should be honoured, respected – Men should call on God as their Creator, Saviour, & Lord. Your kingdom come: – By calling on the name of the Lord (Jesus) we enter God’s kingdom; God’s reign & rule comes into our lives. – Also, God’s reign & rule flows through our lives to others. Your will be done… – The goal, the end result is that ‘God’s Will’ should be done, in us and in the world around us.

A Passion for God’s Will God’s will for mankind is to Love God and to Love other people, through faith in Jesus Christ. – To seek God’s glory, to do good & seek justice. Christians should be people who are concerned, even ‘passionate’ for God’s will to be done. Concern and passion to see God’s will done in our lives and in the world around us is a sign of true Christian conversion and maturity.

‘On earth, as it is in heaven’ Concern for God’s will should lead us to pray. God’s will is not always done ‘on earth’; but it is perfectly done ‘in heaven’! God seeks our prayers to do His will: – “God does nothing except in answer to prayer” (John Wesley).

The Privilege of Prayer “In the Lord’s Prayer, God lets us share in his own heartbeat. It is such a privilege. You and I are invited to partake in the greatest enterprise in all creation: the reason God sent his Son into the world in the first place. Talk about significance! There is no higher calling, no greater goal, no greater mission. You and I are given a mandate to pray for that which is greater than politics, greater than economic success, greater than national security: that God’s kingdom may come. It does not get better than that.” (R T Kendall)

A ‘fearful prayer’ (Martin Luther) ‘Your kingdom come, Your will be done’ is a prayer for God to rule & reign in us! “The general will of God is thrilling! But His particular will threatens my own will, which is a fearful prospect.” (Dennis Lennon) Praying for God’s will means ‘my surrender’!

HOMEWORK! Continue to PRAY the LORD’S PRAYER ONCE EVERY DAY in your prayers in the coming week. Pray that God’s Kingdom will come in one or two people’s lives or specific situations. As you pray, ask God how His will might be done more in YOUR own life.