On Earth as it is in Heaven...

"Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, On earth as it is in heaven."
Matthew 6:10.

How many countless times have we uttered this phrase as we repeat the Lord's words of instruction? We have recited them in the seats of our sanctuaries with the brethren of our congregation. We have pleaded them in the privacy of our closets and inner rooms. We have mouthed along with them on bended knee at our children's bedside. So many times we have followed Christ in His example of prayer, but how often have we actually stopped to think what we are praying for? How often, if ever, have we asked ourselves if we really mean what we are praying in these words, or even if we are able to pray them at all?

Before the conversation starts, let me issue a quick caveat: Although my thoughts on this matter stem from studies in the Gospel according to Luke, and are based on themes found throughout that gospel, I will, for translational and familiarity reasons, be using the form of the Lord's prayer found in Matthew 6:9-13, and referring to that text specifically (unless otherwise noted). Some translations of Luke, such as the NIV, NASB, and the ESV, exclude chunks of the prayer that appear in Matthew, while other translations, the KJ family in particular, include them. Also, I am writing a paper on this topic, and these observations are my key premise; this is not a full exposition on the topic. I might link to my paper when I'm done. (I'm trying to break the habit of putting up huge posts =)

As I have been studying Luke's Gospel these past three months, I don't think I have yet been so halted by an event as the giving of the Lord's prayer. Luke records the Lord's prayer in his 11th chapter, and it comes at the request of His disciples.

1 And it came about that while He was praying in a certain place, after He had finished, one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray just as John also taught his disciples.”

In Matthew 6, the instruction was delivered within the Sermon on the Mount

8 Therefore do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need, before you ask Him. 9a Pray, then, in this way:

The "them" in verse 8 is defined in the preceding verses starting in verse 5. While there is some debate as to how many times Christ delivered this instruction based on the seemingly different contexts in the two gospels, it is quite apparent that Christ, in both accounts, is teaching His followers a way to pray that is different from "them" (Matt 6:5-8) and different than John's disciples (Luke 11:1). What Christ was teaching His disciples was indeed something different, it was something new. Now, obviously, Christ did not intend to deliver a new in word only prayer, no. In Matthew 6, when speaking of the way the Gentiles prayed, He warns those listening to him of meaningless, or vain repetition (6:7). Indeed, we do not see that Christ Himself ever repeated these words in the many Scriptural accounts of His prayers, and neither do we see the Apostles repeat them as they delivered the gospel of Christ and built the Church. So, we must conclude that Christ's intention was not that His disciples utter the exact words that He spoke as example, but that those words were meant to model something else. This prayer was new in form, and new in meaning.

After the address, "Our Father, who art in Heaven", Consider the three opening petitions of the prayer: 1) Hallowed be Thy name, 2) Thy Kingdom come, and 3) Thy will be done. (Yes, "Hallowed be Thy name" is a request. The Greek used here for "hallowed" is a verb, not an adjective: "May Your name be revered, called holy.") These three, petitions regarding God, are followed by another three regarding man: 1) Give us this day our daily bread, 2) Forgive us our debts, and 3) Lead us not into temptation. And right there, right in the middle, is a phrase that must not be overlooked nor understated; right in the middle lays the qualifier of the whole thing: "On earth as it is in Heaven."

Because the phrase falls where it does, it touches every petition of the prayer; it, serves as a kind of "textual bracket". When we ask that God’s will be done, we can not do so in any other way than to ask for it in all areas of life. For to pray that His will be done in one area and not another, is to not pray for His will at all. Rather it is the imposition of our own will upon that of God; it is the request that God exercise His will according to the way and in the areas that we want Him to exercise it. Therefore, when we ask for our daily bread, when we ask that God’s name be revered, when we bring any petition before the Lord, we must ask for it to be done in accordance to His will alone, not how we think it should be done. In this prayer, by attaching "on earth as it is in heaven" to "thy will be done," Christ dictates that when we pray for God’s will, that we pray for it to be done in our lives and in our context, that it be realized in our time now, as it is in the place where God dwells. Having prayed this, the rest must follow: The first three petitions: "Hallowed be Thy name," on earth as it is in heaven; "Thy kingdom come," on earth as it is in heaven; "Thy will be done," on earth as it is in heaven; and the last three: "Give us this day our daily bread," on earth as it is in heaven; "And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors," on earth as it is in heaven; "And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil," on earth as it is in heaven. This consideration vastly expands our understanding of the model that Christ gave His disciples, and has given us. As to pray for God to be known, to reign, to work on earth as it is in heaven, and to pray that we be provided for, that we deal with our neighbor, and that we not be affected by evil on earth as it is in heaven, to pray that all aspects of our lives before God and man be on earth as it is in heaven, is to pray that the state of earth be "heavenly", to be a place and time in which God’s will is realized in such a way as can only be done in His presence; it is to pray for the full consummation of the Kingdom of God here on earth. The Lord's prayer is a Kingdom prayer; it cries out to God for the manifestation of His Kingdom here on earth. It is a plea to God for the redemption of His people (Our Father, Give us our daily bread, forgive us our debts, lead us not into temptation), and the redemption of all of creation (on earth as it is in heaven). When Christ instructs His disciples with this prayer, He is telling them to so earnestly desire the day when the tabernacle of God will be among men, when God Himself will dwell among them (Rev 21:3), the time when the presence of God will make things on earth as [they are] in heaven, He tells them to so earnestly desire the day of the consummation of the Kingdom, that they desire everything else, in form and manner, in accordance with that Kingdom. And not just to desire these things, but to petition God to make things thus. Indeed this is solidified in the closing of the prayer: "For Thine is Kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen" (Matt 6:13). In giving this model, Christ is telling His disciples to seek first the Kingdom of God, and God's righteousness, and everything else will be added unto them (Matt 6:25-33; Luke 12:22-31). Christ modeled this perfectly in the Garden when He prayed to His Father, "Yet not My will, but Yours be done" (Luke 22:42). He sought His Father’s will and the salvation of His Kingdom more than His own well being, and, indeed, the citizens of the Kingdom were added unto Him through the salvation accomplished by His sacrifice.

Now, the questions must be asked: Do I pray this way? Do I want what God wants me to want, or do I want what's easy? Do I understand that what's in my best interest is really what's in God's best interest? Do I so desire the Kingdom that I am willing to decrease so that I may contribute to its increase? When's the last time I prayed that God take something away from me? Do I truly seek to live in conformity to Christ and manifest heaven on earth, or do I continue an earthly life and seek to justify it as "heavenly" simply because I'm a Christian? Do I seek first the Kingdom, or am I stubbornly trying to add "all these things" unto it? Christ Himself, through instruction and example, shows us that prayer is a means of seeking out God's will and victory, and a humbling of ourselves to receive it and live accordingly. When we pray according to how Christ taught us, our lives must change; we must stop seeking our own agendas and start seeking first the ways of the Kingdom. In this regard, Christ shows us that our prayer is not just a means of communication with God, but also a means of sanctification of our lives. However, this prayer speaks not only of sanctification, but also of salvation.

"Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, On earth as it is in heaven." Is this not the Gospel, that God has a Kingdom and that man is able to be a part of it? When we share the good news of God, the news of the Kingdom (Luke 4:43; 8:1; 9:2, 11, 60), when we tell our friends and family that God gives meaning to life, are we not saying, "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you." (Matt 6:33)? Salvation lies in seeking the Kingdom of God and conforming to His righteousness! Yet, no man can do that on his own; man is sinful. The Scriptures themselves say that "There is none righteous, not even one; there is none who understands, there is none who seeks for God" (Romans 3:10-11). However, there is hope. Let us not forget who has instructed us in this prayer that speaks the way of salvation. It is the very King of the Kingdom in which our salvation lay. Christ is saying believe Me that this is how you must pray, believe Me that there is a Kingdom to pray for, believe Me that when you seek it first, everything else will be added unto you. For when you believe Me, you believe the one who rules that Kingdom and who will do the adding of all these things unto you, when you believe Me, you believe the only begotten Son of the one true God, when you believe Me, you believe in the only name under heaven by which man must be saved (Acts 4:12). Had this model of prayer been deliverd by an Apostle or anyone in the Scriptures other than Christ, the Savior Himself, this Gospel hope would not be present in it. There is great signifigance in that it is Christ, in whose name we pray, that teaches men how to pray. Through this account in Scripture, Christ tells all mankind that there is a Kingdom over which He Himself reigns. He tells all mankind that there is a Kingdom in which man may dwell. And He tells all mankind that He is the only way into that Kingdom.

The next time we recite the Lords prayer, or the next time we pray at all, whether we quietly fold our hands or fall heavily on our knees, whether we shout thanks to God or call out in desperation, whether we call upon Him to meet our physical needs or cry out to Him for the very salvation of our soul, remember there is a Kingdom that we are to be seeking. There is a Kingdom we are to be evidencing. There is a Kingdom that we are to be living and desiring to see fully manifested. When we pray we proclaim that there is hope and promise that things will one day be “on earth as it is in heaven.”