Your will be done on earth as in heaven

Our praying for God’s will to be done on earth as in heaven provides us with a basic foundation for our prayers. We’re asking that his will be done in our lives and in the world around us. Although we do all too frequently seem to get things upside down, and pray as if we expect God to change the way he is doing things just because we’ve given him our petitions. When we’re at our worst, we seem to expect God to change the universe and give us what we want, in much the same way as we’d expect a genie to give us what we demand after we’ve given his lamp a polish.

We must recognize the importance of conforming our will to his will — not his will to our will. Prayer isn’t about getting God to do my will; it’s asking that his will be done in my life, my family, my business, and in my relationships, just as it’s done in heaven.

Forty-two years after his death, Beethoven’s body was exhumed. Apparently, someone had buried him in a way that revealed his attitude; he was found with his arms up and his fists clenched in defiance. Beethoven became deaf at thirty, and remained so until he died aged fifty-six. He felt that God had hemmed him in and died an angry and bitter man.

It was only in grim resignation that Beethoven prayed for God’s will to be done. It’s possible to resent that God is God while praying for his will to be done. Many people despise God because he hasn’t made them master of their own fate. But those of us who have a relationship with God, and know him as Father, who know that his heart is not only righteous and holy but also gracious and kind, can know that all things will work together for good for those who love God.

This is the fifth post in a series offering a reflection based on each of the clauses of the Lord’s Prayer

“The kingdom of heaven is like . . .”

The following is the text of the sermon I preached at the 8.00am Holy Communion service on Sunday, 27 July; at Church — St Mary the Virgin, Godmanchester.

“The kingdom of heaven is like . . .”
Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52

May I speak in the name of the living God, who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Longing for change
“The kingdom of heaven is like . . . ” — I wonder what Jesus’s disciples would’ve thought when they first heard him say those words? I wonder what they would’ve hoped to hear? They were probably longing for a change in the political scene of their country, and most likely hoping that Jesus, who they thought of as the promised Messiah, was going to instigate such a change.

Their nation had been oppressed for hundreds of years; occupied by Persians, Greeks, and now Romans. They’re desperate for political and radical change, to bring them freedom from that oppression. And they long for the kingdom of heaven.

“The kingdom of heaven is like . . .” — We’re fortunate to be living in a country that has a good government. Yes, I know there are many that would want to question that statement. But in comparison to many places around the world, we are living under a good government. There are places where the people are longing for freedom from government oppression, and the hope of a better life, just as those disciples did two thousand years ago. Think, for instance, of recent events in Zimbabwe, or of the protests in Tibet, or of those in the camps of Darfur, longing for a new regime that will give them protection and a livelihood.

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