“Thy Will Be Done in Earth, as it is in Heaven”
The Petition of Proactive
Mission and Submission
Structure: The invocation is followed by three petitions, each “asking the Father to function as God in our
world – to make His hidden holiness visible.” (the Name, the
Kingdom, the Will – of God). Together with Christians all over the world
we are requesting the God would break through and “hallow His name, plant evidences of the Kingdom, and extend His
saving will to more people and places and earthly kingdoms.”
Individualism in Contemporary Culture
Praying for God’s will to be done
is often equated to fatalist theology where surrender means that God will force us to do what is most abhorrent to us. God
will never force Himself onto our plans or us. To interpret this petition in
this way contradicts the intent of the entire prayer. We cannot individualize
this petition.
“Joyful submissiveness
in prayer to God’s rule and will with an attitude of trust and obedience flow from this petition as well as a thankful
spirit of anticipation and watchfulness for the full in-breaking of God’s rule and will in the earth (Rom. 12:12;
2 Peter 3:10-13).”
Rom. 8:37 – conquerors through Christ
God’s Saving Will:
We have to keep our perspective. All of Matthew is geared to God’s burden for a lost world.
He wants to be our God and for all humankind to be His people – to establish His kingdom. With that in mind and in light of a world that is drifting away from God, this petition is for God’s
saving will to be effective in our world (Matt. 28:19-20).
God’s saving will extends to
all humanity! We invite God to accomplish His will and offer to enlist
in this mission. Jesus not only teaches to pray for God’s will, but He
also modeled this prayer in the Garden (Matt. 26:36-39).
The Garden prayer is an overlap of the
personal search for God’s will and the universal flow of God’s will.
All three synoptic Gospels record Jesus’ desire for the cup to pass from Him (Mt. 26:38; Mk. 14:36; Lk. 22:44). He submerged His will to the Father’s design by submission. (Mt. 26:39) – “yet, not what I want but what you want.”
In verse 42 he uses the same words as the Lord’s Prayer – “… your will be done …” Then how does Jesus react or act? He
doesn’t wait for the coming events. He get up, wakes His disciples, and
goes out to meet the crowd and His betrayer.
Resignation or Relinquishment?
Resignation – “your
will be done” – through clenched teeth.
-
a struggle to the very end – going down kicking and screaming
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like God is some ogre, who seeks to overwhelm and destroy
Relinquish – “your will be
done” – no unbearable burden – no sacrifices
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God our loving Father is the One revealed to us by our Lord Jesus
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2 Cor. 4 – Pain in following Christ that pales in comparison to the glory
“An external weight of glory
beyond all measure” (2 Cor. 4:17).
There is a difference between reluctant
abandonment and appreciative abandonment to God’s will.
Reluctant abandonment – joyless,
clenched teeth
Appreciative abandonment – recognizing
the wonder and joy of divine design
-
brings hop and purpose and vision to life
The Meaning of “BE DONE”
Literally – to become, to be, to
happen, to take place
Luther:
a request for God’s will to appear or happen on earth as it does in heaven
The Possessive “YOURS”
The final word of this petition in the
Greek is “yours” – possessive pronoun
Only God owns the kingdom. Praying this petition we submit to the Father, as revealed through our Lord Jesus Christ.
“In earth as it is in heaven”
– applies to all previous petitions
We pray for God’s decisive
will to be revealed on earth – assuming this is already fully being done in heaven.
I don’t know how God will work out His design, but I know that He will.
We were all designed for heaven
and have a desire for it, but there will be many struggles between here and there. We’re
on the path of the final accomplishment, but we ain’t there yet! We pray “Your will be done as a call
for the decisive advent of divine power” (p. 56).
Principle 10: “Spiritual
Formation is a Function of Our Total Life’s History”
Implications for Spiritual
Formation:
- A clear God orientation –
a “short-term and long-term focus that is God-oriented. Immediate problems
are submerged into God’s grand design.”
- A deeper understanding of God –
“liberated from a paralyzing understanding”
- A
freedom from trying to control everything – we don’t “need” to control things if God is already
in control. “Surrender to God’s control means we place trust in
God to work through the dysfunctions and disgraces of life.”
- Freedom to throw yourself into Kingdom
issues – we are not intimidated by world pressures. We can love the unlovable
and understand the true reality with spiritual 20/20 vision based on a radical optimism of grace.
- A freedom to pray with hope, patience,
and joy
o Hope
– being fully convinced that God is fully in charge
o Patience
– trusting God’s time table
o Joy
– knowing the outcome does not rest on our abilities
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No matter what we are praying for, we pray in appreciative abandonment to His will.
“We outline the results
we would like to see and trust the God who sees beyond our narrow ability to envision the results.” ONLY GOD REALLY SEES!
Principle 11: “Spiritual Formation is Personality Specific.”
All
Scripture taken from The Holy Bible (NIV) – by Zondervan Publishing Co.
Rom 12:12
Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.
2 Peter 3:10-13
10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens
will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare.
11 Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what
kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives 12 as you look forward to the day of God and speed
its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. 13 But
in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.
Rom 8:37
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through
him who loved us.
Matt 28:18-20
19 Therefore go and make disciples of all
nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything
I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
Matt 26:36-39
36 Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them,
"Sit here while I go over there and pray." 37 He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be
sorrowful and troubled. 38 Then he said to them, "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and
keep watch with me."
39 Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the
ground and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will."
Matt 26:38
Then he said to them, "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here
and keep watch with me."
Mark 14:36
"Abba, Father," he said, "everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not
what I will, but what you will."
Luke 22:44
And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling
to the ground.
Matt 26:39
Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground
and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will."
Matt 26:42
He went away a second time and prayed, "My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to
be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done."
2 Cor 4:7-9
7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay
to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 8 We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed;
perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.
2 Cor 4:17
For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs
them all.
