Our Father In Heaven

by Keith Gardner

Matthew 6:9-13 “This, then, is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’”

It has been thirty some years since high school. I played football and before every game we would recite the Lord’s Prayer. In those days the Lord’s Prayer was known by just about everyone; the Christian and the un-Christian alike; today, not so much. For us familiar with these words they roll off of the tongue with ease. Most of the time, the well-known refrain flies off of our flapping lips without engaging the brain; it has been memorized. But lately these often recited words have been bouncing in my head with my mouth shut tight. There are two phrases in the Lord’s Prayer that have particularly caught my imagination. Those phrases are: “your kingdom come” and “your will be done on earth as it is in heaven”. I am gripped by what Jesus might have meant by these statements.

First, a little perspective; Jesus’ ministry years were short, about three. There was a lot to be done during this short span of time, and He did not waste any of it. His time was spent in meaningful activities, and His words were well chosen. Each day was a new lesson to His disciples, and each word was an applicable instruction. These few men were the future of the movement, and there was much to learn.

At the heart of the Lord’s Prayer is our opportunity to engage the Father in the most meaningful way. We know from the book of Revelation that a time is coming when the government of men will end and a new kingdom will be established. Jerusalem will be the capital and Jesus will be the sole ruler. We, as followers of Jesus, are the advance men of that kingdom. Jesus in His instructions to His disciples taught that the kingdom of God was coming and is now here. Jesus brought this kingdom with Him, and He left it with His disciples to continue His work. Within the kingdom are the intentions of the Father. Jesus said “if you have seen me you have seen the Father”. His time in prayer was to know the heart of God. It is in that knowing that the kingdom is advanced. We must know the heart of God to advance His kingdom.

The other phrase, like the last, is about knowing the heart of the Father. “Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” The ideas of heaven on earth began with Jesus’ ministry. When Jesus read the scripture in His local synagogue He declared His Fathers intentions; to bring deliverance and healing. The will of Heaven is to fix what was broken on that day that Adam and Eve chose to eat from that forbidden tree. When Jesus’ government is established the brokenness will be fixed in mass. Our now responsibility, is to establish the kingdom of God; one life at a time.