In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus warns his followers not to repeat empty words and phrases in their prayers like the Gentiles do. Instead, he gives them what we call the Lord’s Prayer. If we’re going to repeat anything, the prayer Jesus taught ought to be that prayer. In fact, the people of Israel often prayed psalms and other biblical prayers over and over, not so much to get God to do anything, but to form their lives around the wisdom and promises found in those prayers. This is what Jesus is asking his followers to do—pray this prayer in such a way that they are formed by its wisdom and promises.
After addressing God as Father, the Lord’s Prayer continues with three petitions:
May your name be kept holy.
May your Kingdom come.
May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.
At the center of Jesus’ life and ministry is the kingdom of God. Wherever he goes, he announces the presence of that Kingdom and, through his acts of forgiveness and restoration, demonstrates what it’s like to live in that Kingdom. The prayer Jesus taught his followers is designed to help us live both as recipients and agents of that Kingdom. Put simply, God’s kingdom is given to us so that it may flow out through us. This is how God has designed his Kingdom to spread across the world.
So how does the Kingdom come into our lives? In the “Small Catechism,”Martin Luther wrote that the Kingdom comes to us “when the heavenly Father gives us his Holy Spirit so that by his grace we may believe his holy Word and live a godly life, both here in time and hereafter forever.” That means we encounter God’s Spirit whenever we read—and pray—God’s word, and that definitely includes the Lord’s Prayer. What a gift!
Reflection:
- Where have you found yourself trying to get God to do something by the way you pray? What was the result?
- In your own words, what does it mean to be formed by the prayers you pray?
- What is the Holy Spirit’s role in the coming of God’s kingdom? Where have you experienced the coming of God’s kingdom into your life?