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THY KINGDOM COME, THY WILL BE DONE, ON EARTH AS IT IS HEAVEN

When I was a kid, I loved the whole idea of Santa Claus.  The thought of going to see him at the store, telling him what my greatest desires were, and then have him deliver them to my house was just awesome to me!

I wonder if our prayers ever seem like a “Santa’s list” to God?

When we pray, “Thy kingdom come,” we are actually asking for God to fulfill the entire Bible!  We are asking for Jesus to return and establish His kingdom on this earth, which is promised in the book of Revelation.  Until that happens, we are praying that His kingdom will be advanced on earth through pastors, missionaries, government leaders, and …. yes, US.  Yet if we made a recording of our prayers, would we be embarrassed to hear what amounts to a “Christmas list” of requests about US?

With this phrase in The Lord’s Prayer, Jesus is reminding us that our purpose on this earth is … To Exalt Him.  And our prayers should reflect that.

And what about, “Thy will be done?”  If God already knows what is going to happen, and He is in control of everything … why pray at all?

When I was younger there was a common bumper sticker that said, “Prayer Changes Things.”  Do you believe that … I mean, really believe that?  Ponder this statement for a moment…

When we pray in faith, putting the emphasis on God and His will for our lives, His Will can become OUR will!

In other words, our entire outlook on life and this world becomes God’s outlook.  Remember the WWJD bracelets – What Would Jesus Do?  When our prayers are centered on God and not on our list of wants and needs, we see the world through the eyes of Jesus.  We start to view people the way Jesus does.  We become more caring, compassionate, and patient.  Our hearts begin to open to God’s will for our lives and that becomes our greatest desire!  Someone once defined the answers to our prayers by three categories – those that are Yes, those that are NO, and those that are Wait a While.  When our prayer life is in line with our purpose (which is To Exalt Him) then whatever the answer, we can accept it … even if we can’t fully understand it at that time.

Praying in faith, and in tune with God’s will, Does.Change.Things … Dramatically!