Our Father who art in heaven,

Hallowed be Thy name.

Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done

On earth as it is in heaven.

In our last Catch, we found out that we are the kingdom, because the kingdom lives in us; we carry the kingdom wherever we go, and we bring the kingdom to the world in the form of those we introduce to Jesus and those we disciple.

In this next part of the Lord’s prayer, we are to pray that God’s will would be done as it is marked out in heaven. In both these instances, the coming of the kingdom and the doing of God’s will on earth, we are the agents for this to happen. We are the answer to the prayer Jesus taught us to pray.

Notice that our first requests are about God’s business not ours. We have a tendency to be consumed by our own needs, but God wants us invested foremost in His agenda. His kingdom and His will are our primary concerns. We’re taken up with God’s stuff before our own. This is the way to live with our priorities straight. Our first concern is with finding and doing God’s will before we ever consider our own. Our daily bread is a small thing when compared to God’s will on earth.

I think we have a tendency to think we do nothing about God’s will other than to pray for it to be done. This is all God’s doing; it’s His will on earth as it is in heaven. But the obvious question is: who’s going to do it? That’s easy. Who’s on earth? Who else is there but us?

And knowing what to do won’t be hard because God shapes our hearts to match His concerns. The closer we get to Him, the more our hearts break with the things that break the heart of God — things like hunger, poverty, injustice, racism, lack of love, hate, falsehood — until our presence on earth is literally bringing heaven to earth. That’s what we do. We are praying for ourselves here. How long have you known that? Do you realize you are an agent of the will of God on earth? What an incredible privilege!

Of course, none of this would be possible without the presence and the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Let’s be honest, we all know what it means to be stepping out in the Spirit in obedience to doing His will. It means to be vulnerable — to be operating out beyond our own human ingenuity and manipulation to where we are trusting only in His presence in our lives. And the more we consciously do this, the more we are doing His will on earth as it is in heaven. Whereas the more we are in control and not conscious of His Spirit, the more we are operating outside of God’s will. I can tell when I’m operating out of my own will, can’t you? Praying for His will to be done at all times, keeps us in the center of that will as evidenced by our trust in Him.