In Earth As It Is In Heaven
Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven Matthew 6:10
It was a fortunate occasion when the disciples asked Jesus to “teach them to pray”. That request has yielded to us one of the most beautiful passages in Scripture that is as poetic as it is insightful. It is what we know as the Lord’s Prayer. “Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven.” - In that very first sentence is packed the essential theology of prayer.
First, the statement, “Thy will be done in earth as it is in Heaven” implies confession. We recognize that Heaven and Earth are essentially in disharmony. Heaven is where God’s will is done always and done perfectly. Earth, marred by the sinful condition of man, is where God’s perfect will is not always done. Man, even a godly man, with a free will can do what is not God’s will, and we are confessing that we need God’s will to be done.
Second, it is a statement of dependence. By saying, “Thy will be done on earth” we are acknowledging that God’s will is perfect, and better than our will, and we depend on His intervention to cause His will to be done on earth.
But the most radical thing that is implied in this statement, “Thy will be done” is the possibility that God’s perfect will can actually be done on earth as it is in heaven! It implies that heaven and earth are very unlike, yet can be made to be very like, if God’s people depend on God and pray. Charles Spurgeon asked in one of his addresses, “This earth is subject to vanity, dimmed with ignorance, defiled with sin, furrowed with sorrow; can holiness dwell in it as in heaven?” And then he answers it with equal force, “Our Divine Instructor would never teach us to pray for impossibilities.”
In practical terms, Jesus implied that you and I can discern and do God’s perfect will, and in doing so, earth can, in some way, be more like heaven! What Heaven so habitually does, Earth can do, enabled by prayer.
Often, we miss the real motivation for prayer. We pray not simply to encourage God to do something special for us, but we pray first of all because we recognize that something has gone wrong. We recognize that dissonance between Heaven and Earth, not just generally, but acutely, in ourselves first, and our hearts earnestly want to petition God to allow us to do God’s will, and then we with faith depend that God will actually enable us to do so.
Do you see injustice, chaos, and disregard for godliness? Do you feel things are hopeless? Jesus tells us that we can pray for “thy will be done in earth as in heaven.” Queen Mary of Scotland was resonating the message of the power of prayer when she said, “I fear John Knox's prayers more than an army of ten thousand men.” Genuine prayer not only transforms us, but will transform the earth.
Do you want to change your world? Maybe the earth? Then let’s begin by praying.
Danesh Manik
It was a fortunate occasion when the disciples asked Jesus to “teach them to pray”. That request has yielded to us one of the most beautiful passages in Scripture that is as poetic as it is insightful. It is what we know as the Lord’s Prayer. “Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven.” - In that very first sentence is packed the essential theology of prayer.
First, the statement, “Thy will be done in earth as it is in Heaven” implies confession. We recognize that Heaven and Earth are essentially in disharmony. Heaven is where God’s will is done always and done perfectly. Earth, marred by the sinful condition of man, is where God’s perfect will is not always done. Man, even a godly man, with a free will can do what is not God’s will, and we are confessing that we need God’s will to be done.
Second, it is a statement of dependence. By saying, “Thy will be done on earth” we are acknowledging that God’s will is perfect, and better than our will, and we depend on His intervention to cause His will to be done on earth.
But the most radical thing that is implied in this statement, “Thy will be done” is the possibility that God’s perfect will can actually be done on earth as it is in heaven! It implies that heaven and earth are very unlike, yet can be made to be very like, if God’s people depend on God and pray. Charles Spurgeon asked in one of his addresses, “This earth is subject to vanity, dimmed with ignorance, defiled with sin, furrowed with sorrow; can holiness dwell in it as in heaven?” And then he answers it with equal force, “Our Divine Instructor would never teach us to pray for impossibilities.”
In practical terms, Jesus implied that you and I can discern and do God’s perfect will, and in doing so, earth can, in some way, be more like heaven! What Heaven so habitually does, Earth can do, enabled by prayer.
Often, we miss the real motivation for prayer. We pray not simply to encourage God to do something special for us, but we pray first of all because we recognize that something has gone wrong. We recognize that dissonance between Heaven and Earth, not just generally, but acutely, in ourselves first, and our hearts earnestly want to petition God to allow us to do God’s will, and then we with faith depend that God will actually enable us to do so.
Do you see injustice, chaos, and disregard for godliness? Do you feel things are hopeless? Jesus tells us that we can pray for “thy will be done in earth as in heaven.” Queen Mary of Scotland was resonating the message of the power of prayer when she said, “I fear John Knox's prayers more than an army of ten thousand men.” Genuine prayer not only transforms us, but will transform the earth.
Do you want to change your world? Maybe the earth? Then let’s begin by praying.
Danesh Manik
posted by Danesh Manik | 5:14 PM
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