Grace and Peace Episode 60
Presbyterian Church of Easton
November 21, 2021
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Philippians 1:2
Heidelberg Catechism
124 Q. What does the third petition mean?
A. “Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” means: Help us and all people to reject our own wills and to obey your will without any back talk. Your will alone is good. Help us one and all to carry out the work we are called to, as willingly and faithfully as the angels in heaven.
Matthew 6:9 “This, then, is how you should pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, 10 your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
I think that our Bible translators have put a comma in the wrong place. In Matthew 6:10 the comma is after “your will be done”. I think that the comma should be moved to after “on earth” as in the following: 10 “your kingdom come, your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.” By moving the comma the central request of the prayer becomes us doing God’s will here on earth. We are praying for God to do his will through us.
This is opposite of most of our prayers. Usually we ask God to do something for us. We want God to intervene in our lives in some way. For example: “God give me good health” or “bless my children”. And these are certainly good things to pray for. But Jesus teaches us that we must also pray for something else. Jesus was us to pray, not for us to do something for God. Rather, Jesus wants us to pray that what we do on earth will bring about a kingdom that replicates in every detail the glorious kingdom of heaven. When we pray this prayer we are asking God to make the desire to advance the kingdom of God the most important thing in our lives.
I know that this is tough to do. I can’t say that advancing the kingdom of God is the most important thing in my life right now. But if I pray this prayer everyday and think about what it says, then as the days pass I will develop a strong desire to advance God's kingdom on earth.
So I urge you to find out what God wants you to do with regular worship, prayer and Bible study. And then do God’s will in this world in order to bring about his kingdom on earth.
Let’s pray. Heavenly Father, bless us with wisdom so that we may know your will for our lives. Give us the gifts we need to accomplish your will. And guide us as we live our lives by your word and Spirit. Help us Lord to desire above everything else the advancement of your kingdom here one earth. All this we pray in the name of the one who came to earth to establish the kingdom, our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
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