"Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen"
Make it happen here

I wonder at times how seriously I want this part of the Lord’s prayer to happen. It is so easy to simply mouth these words without considering what would be happening if indeed they came to happen. What would God’s “kingdom” look like in our world today and in my life today?

We are not offering this part of the Lord’s prayer as if God needs to wait for us to say that it is OK to happen now, or that we have the power to command it happening. Luther says, “God’s kingdom will come, and his will be done indeed without our prayer, of itself, but we pray in this petition that it would come and be done among us also.”  In short, we want to be on God’s side, we want what he wants both in our own lives and in the world in which we live. 

How does this look in our world today? Whenever brokenness is met with healing in body, mind, or spirit, whenever isolation feels presence, whenever selfishness is replaced by selflessness, whenever hate turns to love, whenever forgiveness is offered and received, whenever arms and fists are opened and extended with care to all, whenever God’s praise rings amidst the noise of our world, whenever children know no fear, whenever greed is melted into generosity— the kingdom of God is here and his will is being done “on earth as it is in heaven.”

Can this happen in your life? In mine? Indeed it can, for we have been given the Holy Spirit, the power to believe the Word we have received—Jesus Christ—and the ability to live the godly life.

Prayer:  Lord, let your kingdom come and your will be done through me today.

Pastor Jerry