When the Lord was teaching His disciples how to pray, one line in the Lord’s Prayer is of special interest, “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10). That single line in the prayer offers us insight into the intent of God and what should be motivating our prayers.
If our prayers are to release the environment of heaven on earth, it will change the tone and content of our prayers. They will be motivated by and call forth the environment that surrounds the throne of God. Eternity is a place of resolution and redemption because the conflicts we now see taking place on earth have been resolved and the guilty have been redeemed. Our prayers should call for the removal of the earthly obstacles that stand in the way of that resolution and redemption.
Maybe you are praying about the war in Ukraine or violence on the streets of your city. Instead of praying for a biased understanding of peace or a narrow interpretation of justice, answers that can be interpreted through our limited understanding of what real peace or justice looks like, we should be praying for the environment of heaven to come and invade those situations to radically alter the hearts of those involved in the conflict.
The challenging thing regarding this kind of prayer is the way God might choose to answer our prayers. The answers may not line up with our theology or our interpretation of reality, but they will accomplish the will of God on earth. His answer to our prayers always contains a merciful solution to the matters that cause us to pray. It is His will, not ours.
So timely…such a good word ❣️
Thank You Garris
“The answers may not line up with our theology or our interpretation of reality, but they will accomplish the will of God on earth.”
Vital to grasp your point here, Garris.
As humans, we often seek “an outcome”….. believing that our mental picture of an answer to prayer is also “God’s Will.” But our history is that we seek solutions to known need and resolution of pain. No farmer in the 19th century envisioned a diesel combine, a corn drill, or an irrigation pivot. No groomer of horses in 1900 desired a FORD MODEL T.
When Jesus was presented as Messiah, neither his disciples nor the Torah authorities recognized nor accepted him. When Jesus walked the Emmaus Road with discouraged disciples, he “opened their understanding” before briefing them on what “Moses and all of the prophets” had written about Him. Some scholars believe that Matthew was one of these men, and the briefing was reflected in his Gospel (nearly 40 times he wrote ‘And Jesus (did/said) this to fulfill what was written in (scripture reference).’
May the Lord generously inform our imagination and perspective so that we see what He sees and understand his will!