Matthew 6:9-13

9 “This, then, is how you should pray:

“‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,

10 your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

11 Give us today our daily bread.

12 And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’

In this passage we have what we commonly refer to as “the Lord’s Prayer”.  Actually it could probably be more appropriately called the disciples prayer, because it what He was teaching them to pray.  There are many things we can learn from this prayer, but there are two things that stand out to me that I’d like to call to your attention.  The first is the daily nature of the prayer.  He said “give us this day our daily bread.”  He didn’t say pray for our crops to be bountiful at harvest time, He didn’t say pray for pantry to be full, He didn’t say pray for a non-perishable 30 day supply of food.  He just said ask me to provide one day at a time.  That’s the way He provided manna for His people in the wilderness, and that’s the way He provides today.  That doesn’t mean we do what we can to provide for the future.  He certainly urged us to be diligent and look ahead, but He wants us to trust and seek Him every day.

The second thought that stands out to me is when He says “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”  This is not a prayer for God to “beam us up” to be with Him.  It is a prayer that calls us to engage with this world to make it as much like heaven as we can.  In everything we do, we should strive to make this earth a place where God’s will is done–a place that is as much like heaven as it within our power to make it.  Certainly we don’t control all the forces that work in our world, but Jesus calls us not to withdraw from the world and meditate on heaven but to actively be involved in our world making the part that we have an influence over as much like heaven as we can.  That means we do God’s will, and we encourage all those we touch to do the same.