“Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.” Matthew 6:10
One way to take the wondering out of our prayer life and empower it with the kind of faith the Bible talks about, is to pray according to the scripture. This may involve a different look altogether of what prayer is. Many Christians view prayer as little more that asking God for things like help, provision, healing, wisdom, understanding, etc. They see little, or no difference between prayers and requests. That’s not what the Bible teaches. Have you ever noticed that what people heave called The Lord’s Prayer is made up of declarations and requests? Jesus said,
After this manner therefore pray ye:
Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. (Declaration)
Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. (Declaration)
Give us this day our daily bread. (Request)
And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. (Request & Declaration)
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: (Requests)
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. (Declaration)
(Matthew 6:9-13)
The Lord’s prayer is really a format for prayer, rather than something we actually pray, although there is nothing wrong with praying these words, there is much more offered to us here. The first verse is a declaration of faith, declaring the magnificence of the Name of God! You could spend a great deal of time on this alone! Reading through the Psalms, we can see that David meditated a great deal of the Names of God! He also said that the mere knowledge of the Name of the LORD would produce trust and faith in us (Psalms 9:10)
Returning again to the Lord’s Prayer, in verse 10, there is something people have used as a request too. “Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.” But it’s actually not a request. Jesus gave it to us as a declaration of faith. When we give voice to the Word of God and declare by faith in His Word that God’s will be done in earth as in heaven, we are activating Covenant Benefits! It’s also a faith-building exercise. The more we speak God’s Word (as a form of prayer) we are actually declaring the exact same things God, Himself has declared. We are initiating an agreement with the eternal truth that God has already spoken, and we can be sure His Word will not return to Him void of accomplishing His purpose, and it will prosper in the thing whereunto it was sent (Isaiah 55:11). We also give angels Covenant rights to serve us as they are designed to hearkening unto the “voice” of His Word! (Psalms 103:20).
The Lord’s Prayer – really His outline for prayer – gives us a great deal of freedom to approach God with our requests, yes; but also to be His voice in the earth, releasing His Word and His will, and we can be sure that if we voice His Words, His sayings, and His Testimonies, we can expect His involvement in our lives in a far greater and more effective way – because it’s according to His Word and Will – not ours!
This process will take the wondering out of our prayer life and bring it into the realm of faith that produces the results we desire. He is always on our side and desires to be our Provider. We just need to understand the process better. When we do, we’ll see His kingdom principles, benefits and blessings manifest in our everyday life!
With Love,
Pastor Tom