Your Kingdom come, your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.
Dear Friends
Many of you will recognise the verse above from the Lord's Prayer, the prayer that Jesus taught his disciples to pray. Certainly, for many of us of a certain age, the Lord's prayer was very much part of our upbringing, recited at church and at school assembly. I still love the prayer and pray it regularly. In fact, I recently read about someone who has adopted the habit of reciting the Lord's prayer every time they hear a church bell ring, and I have been giving that a go. It has made me very aware of how often the bells of the Abbey ring out and I find myself praying that prayer many times a day – not a bad thing.
I do realise, however, how easy it is for us to simply recite the words with little pause for their meaning. One of the ways I try to overcome this is to add extra bits in, or to personalise the prayer. So, when I come to this line my prayer often becomes 'Your Kingdom come, your will be done on earth, in me, through me and around me, as it is in heaven' This short addition really brings it home that I am not just praying for God's Kingdom to come somewhere out there in the earth, far from me, but I am inviting God to move in my own life, through my life and around my life.
To invite his Kingdom in my life is to surrender my life to God and to the work of the Spirit in me, to invite God to transform my character, to grow the fruit of the Spirit in me, to make me more like Jesus. It is a prayer that lays down my habits and attitudes and will and give them over to God. To invite God to rule and reign in my life as he changes me.
Similarly, to invite God's Kingdom to come through me is to say that I want to be a conduit for God's Kingdom. I want to be a channel of his peace, as the prayer of St Francis so beautifully puts it. I want my life to affect those around me as I love and serve and bring hope and light. I want to leave people in a better way than I find them. I want to join God in his mission to restore and redeem his creation. I want to proclaim Christ in my words and deeds. Again it is a prayer of surrender; not my will but your will be done Lord.
Lastly, I want God's Kingdom to come around me. This, for me, is simply being aware of what God is doing. Where do I see God at work in the world around me? Where do I see signs of his Kingdom breaking through? Where do I encounter Jesus in the lives of those I meet: family, friends, neighbours and colleagues. Lord, give me insight into the work of the Spirit around me. Help me to be present to what you are doing each day.
This simple prayer for me brings me back to the reality of God at work in me and around me. It is both challenging and hope-filled. It invites God and seeks God.
So my prayer for us all in this coming season is that we would see God at work in us, through us and around us, that we would be expectant of his presence and power each day and that together we would see heaven coming to earth.
Love and Blessing
Jonx |
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