Matthew 6:10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus teaches us to pray for His kingdom to come and His will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. When we pray that way, we are acknowledging that God knows what is best and that we surrender our will to His; we are choosing to lay down our lives and allow God to dictate what we should do with them. When we intentionally yoke ourselves with Him so that we are walking in His plan for our lives, we are acknowledging the Lordship of Christ in our lives. In fact, life can be much easier and simpler when we are yoked with God and carrying out His will for our lives, as we can be sure He will definitely help us when we are yoked with His will!
John 15:7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.
EM Bounds said “As prayer is the condition of full consecration, so prayer is the habit, the rule, of him who has dedicated himself wholly to God. Prayer is becoming in the consecrated life. Prayer is no strange thing in such a life. There is a peculiar affinity between prayer and consecration, for both recognize God, both submit to God, and both have their aim and end in God. Prayer is part and parcel of the consecrated life. Prayer is the constant, the inseparable, the intimate companion of consecration.”
People who are consecrated are known by their praying habits. Consecration thus expresses itself in prayer. He who is not interested in prayer has no interest in consecration. Prayer creates an interest in consecration, then prayer brings one into a state of heart where consecration is a subject of delight, bringing joy of heart, satisfaction of soul, contentment of spirit. The consecrated soul is the happiest soul!
There is no friction whatsoever between him who is fully given over to God and God’s will. In fact, there is perfect harmony between the will of such a man and God’s will. And when the two wills are in perfect accord, this not only brings rest of soul, absence of friction, but also the presence of perfect peace.
When you next find yourself in a situation where you are uncertain of the will of God, would you consider praying this simple prayer “your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” for your life? When we do that, we are effectively asking for God’s blueprint for our lives to be done. There is no better place than living in the will of God for our lives, because that is where grace for the living is available, faith can be established in prayer, and peace can be found in the midst of the storm because we know that Christ is in our vessel!
1 John 5:14-15 Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.
Praying “your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” keeps us in a posture of seeking first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness.
Matthew 6:33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
Sermon series: Our Prayer Life
