The Lord's Prayer - Ep 8

2026.07.09 Lord's Prayer Thursday

Today and every Thursday during this summer, we will be doing a modified Lectio Divina exercise. Lectio Divina, which means sacred reading, is an ancient spiritual practice that trains us to hear God's voice through scripture. This summer, we soak in the Lord's prayer, and today we set our thoughts on, on earth as it is in heaven.

We will read through the Lord's prayer twice, and we'll provide an insight into the meaning of the text before each reading. We will give space after each reading for you to consider what God might be saying to you through his word. We invite you to take a moment to quiet yourself before you begin.

When we pray on earth as it is in heaven, there are two aspects to it. First, we are asking God to act, to bring more of his kingdom and his power to earth. In a sense, we are asking God to do what he and he alone can do.

But if we stop here, it's easy for this prayer to become passive, as though there is nothing left for us to do. The second aspect is we are committing ourselves to participation in that process. There are parts for us to play as well.

This prayer is meant to remind us that as God's image bearers, we are participants. It's meant to be incarnational, meaning it is meant to be lived out. Let's read the Lord's prayer and then contemplate this question.

Where is God inviting me to partner with him to bring some of heaven to earth? Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.

The phrase on earth as it is in heaven directly follows your will be done. While the Bible doesn't tell us God's will for every decision or every situation we might face, as much as we sometimes wish it would, it does give us some wonderful insights into God's overarching will for our lives. First Thessalonians 4.3, for example, says, for this is the will of God, your sanctification.

In other words, God's will for us is that we would be holy and set apart to serve him. In the Sermon on the Mount, not long after the Lord's Prayer, Jesus says in Matthew 6.33, but seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be added to you. Romans 12.2 instructs us to not be conformed to the patterns of this world but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds.

Micah 6.8 invites us to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with God. It is by living by these commands that we walk in the will of God and when we do that we play our part in making this world just a little more like heaven. We'll read the Lord's Prayer one more time and afterward let's take a few moments to pray that God would use us to bring more of heaven to the places he has called us.

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. Heavenly Father, we pray that your will would be done on earth as it is in heaven.

We pray that your spirit would do its transforming work in us so that we can be men and women you use to bring more of heaven to earth. We pray for our families, our church, the other amazing bible teaching churches in our region, our workplaces, our schools, and our communities. That in those places it would truly be on earth as it is in heaven and we commit ourselves to you today and ask that you would use us to make that a reality.

We pray these things in Jesus name. Amen.