The Lord’s Prayer

(Reading time: 2 minutes) “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matt. 6:9-10, NIV).

Many of us are familiar with this prayer and pray it on a regular basis, but notice the last part of this sentence: “your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”

I suggest this statement is an official invitation for God to intervene in our domain and do his will here. He gave us free will, authority and our domain, so he will not invade our turf, but intervenes only when we specifically ask him or allow him to do so. It’s been said God will do nothing on earth unless someone first prays; this is why.

What does this suggest about people who simply trust God’s sovereignty and wait for him to take care of them without asking? They may wait a long time or may even displease him.

This statement from the Lord’s Prayer pertains to everything you do: your job, family responsibilities, everything; including what you do well, your area of expertise or specialty, or something you’re comfortable doing because you’ve had lots of experience. Do you suppose God knows how to do everything better than you do? Do you think he can take care of the challenges you face? Can he solve problems you’re not even aware of or provide resources you don’t even know exist? Here’s a bizarre question: If God were to do your job for a day, how would his results compare with yours? Do you think God is interested in helping with everything you do? Even when you don’t think you have problems?

God will not impose himself on us. He allows us to act on our own if we choose, but is eager to help us to the extent we allow him. We should consider giving him an official invitation to get involved in everything we do, then eagerly wait for him to show us how to do it better.

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