My prayer and desire is that I might be able to abandon my will so I might pray to my heavenly Father, "Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven" without hesitation or reservation. I know I continue to fall short of that and that grieves me, and of course it grieves the Holy Spirit of God.
My prayer also for each of you is that you might be able to abandon your will so you might pray to our Father in heaven, "Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven."
Let us step back and consider what would happen If we were able to pray like that! To pray "Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven." Is that not God's intention for us as children of God, as joint-heirs with Jesus, the one whose prayers were perfect. Can we even imagine what that would look like! To have churches filled with the children of God praying, "Thy will be done in my heart as it is in heaven"? Think of how each of our lives would be turned upside down, and then, how our churches would be turned upside down, and then how the world would be turned upside down! Would we not see His Kingdom come to earth and His will be done here in earth as it is in heaven! Would we not see Him rending the heavens and coming down in a way we've not seen before...and in a way we long for!
(Holy Father, Rend our hearts so we might render ourselves to You, so we might freely pray, "Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven...No longer my will, but Yours, be done!" O, may You be gracious to us and visit us once again in glory and with power to revive us!)
As I have been reflecting on the words of the Lord's Prayer "Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven," a portion from Alan Redpath's "Victorious Praying: Studies in the Family Prayer" (Revell: 1957) kept coming to my mind. (The book is based on a series of sermons on the Lord's prayer Redpath preached in 1954 at Moody Church, where he was pastor from 1953-1962.) I know this blog is primarily for prayer, but after reading Dr. Redpath's words, I have decided to present a quite lengthy excerpt from Chapter IV. "Thy Will Be Done" from Redpath's book. I bring this to you because I believe Redpath's words will strengthen and encourage us as we seek to be God's Kingdom people who pray without abandon, "Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven."
Would you please prayerfully read Dr. Redpath's words and then pray as the Lord leads you?
Here's Dr. Redpath:
My friend, how much do we desire revival? How much do we really care that God should break through and pour out His blessing? We talk about it, but how much do we really pray about it? If we pray for revival and plead for God to bless, and yet in our lives refuse to submit to His will, we ar hypocrites. Before revival comes, perhaps God will either have to remove some of us or break us.
Both the outward and the inward look reveal that the will of God is not being done. Because it is not being done in the Christian, there is no blessing in the church. And because there is no blessing in the church, the world is unreached, untouched, going to hell, lost for time and eternity. May He have mercy upon us and help us to see this awful sin in the church of Christ today! We say we care about lost souls; we say we are burdened for the need of men who have never heard the gospel; we say we long to see our cities reached for Christ. Yet all the time in our hearts there is a big capital "I" which has never been broken and is standing in the way.
Let me ask, you, therefore in the light of its significance to realize for a moment the heavenly pattern set out in this petition. "Thy will be done in earth"—then what sweet music follows—"as is it in heaven." If we could only glance into that heavenly realm, if only the Holy Spirit would draw back for a moment the veil, what do you think we would see? First we would see something that already we can see to some extent with our naked eye: the created universe, the sun, moon, and stars, all moving swiftly through space together, not one of them ever out of place, singing in harmony of a creation that is living in the will of God.
But we would see something else: we would see surrounding the throne of heaven, a blood-washed host of the redeemed who have been removed from this scene of corruption and sin and failure, those who are "absent from the body and present with the Lord." We would see them as they are now "safe in the arms of Jesus." We would see a host of angels who minister the government of the throne of God moving swiftly in worship and in service, whose whole desire is centered in the Man upon the throne, whose whole desire is centered in the Man upon the throne. Their interest has always been centered in the Lamb of God: they came to announce His birth; they ministered to Him in the wilderness; they strengthened Him in the garden; they announced His resurrection. And today they gather in countless numbers, bowing before the throne of God and crying, "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain!"
Oh, to have just a glimpse within the veil and to see heaven as it is! To see the will of God being done with no one creature out of harmony! To see obedience that is rendered perfectly because there is no temptation! And then to pray, "Our Father, Thy will be done in earth as it is in in heaven." Christian friends, when we pray that, we pray that from one extremity of God's created universe to the other all will be perfect harmony in doing the will of God.
This world of ours has not been abandoned to the devil. It is yet to be the scene of the greatest triumph of God. This earth, which began with the miracle of creation, which has seen the devastation of Satan, and which has witnessed the miracle of the empty tomb, is once again to see the glory of God and experience the reign of Jesus Christ our Lord. This is the fulfillment for which we pray, "Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven."
Somebody may say, "That is utterly impossible. It never has been done; it never could be done on this earth." As a matter of fact, it has been done already; the will of God has been perfectly accomplished down here. There came from heaven one day a Man who took upon Him the form of a servant, humbled Himself, and became obedient even unto the death of the cross. Therefore we can say to you that flesh and blood, in the person of the spotless Son of God, has fulfilled completely the will of God. . . .
"It is done!" He cried. "Thy will, My Father, be done in earth as it is in heaven."
When we pray, "Thy will be done, do we understand the cost of it in our lives? Can the will of God be done today—not merely in the ages to come, but right here and now? Indeed it can!
At the back of all our failures (God forgive us) is a desire of for my way, not His way. At the back of them all is a will that can say "No!" to God in spite of Calvary. The fact of the matter is, Christian friends, that though you and I live to be ninety, going through earth's experiences saved and sanctified, knowing the indwelling Christ, believing the doctrine, we carry in our breast a nature that is at enmity to God, and will never be any different. At any moment the most mature saint may stamp his heel and lift his head to heaven and say, "No!"
The only possibility of God's will being done in me is that the Holy Spirit gets hold of my heart, my mind, my life, and breaks me from all my opposition so that all His omnipotent power may fulfill it in this human, earthen vessel. I cannot do it, neither can you. If, however, I yield to the will of God, I discover that I am utterly conquered and captured by the God to whom I have yielded! If His will is done, I discover that it is not by the pressure, nor by the outward influence of other people, but by an inward Person flooding my heart and life with the love of Jesus Christ. ". . . this is the will of God, even your sanctification . . ." (I Thessalonians 4:3). . . .
It is the failure on the part of Christians to be submissive to the will of God which makes the church weak and divided. It is failure to face surrender in his own life which makes the minister powerless. I am not talking to you about something I have merely read in my Bible, but about something I have experienced, and I suppose you are like me in that. Sometimes a preacher will plead with God that He will "do what the preacher cannot do." Somehow I think I never really did much as the outcome of what somebody preached at me from a pulpit. But I lived ten years of my Christian life in an utter wilderness. And I lived subsequent years, preaching to other people in the early days of my Christian ministry, knowing perfectly well that deep down in my heart were things I wasn't prepared to yield to my Lord. I'm in the school now, thank God, although only in the kindergarten, so to speak. I have discovered already that the only possibility of peace is absolute submission to the will of God.
What do I mean by that? Go back a minute to the pattern, "Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven." The will of God is done in heaven constantly, without failure. Am I only intermittent in my allegiance and obedience–do I fail from time to time? The will of God is done in heaven universally, without exception.
Do I make selections from God's commands, pick and choose as to which ones I should obey? Do I make exceptions and say, "Yes, Lord I will obey You here, but I won't obey You there"? Am I one man on my knees and another man when I am on my feet? Am I humble in prayer, but proud in my business? Am I submissive in my church, but an autocrat in my business life? Am I as sweet as honey in the fellowship of God's house, but like a devil inspired with my wife and children? Do I make exceptions, or do I obey God in every detail?
Are there some things here that are going right home to you? Have you been selective as to what is the will of God/ Are there issues in your life on which you are not utterly surrendered, points of resistance to the Holy Spirit which He has never broken through, and the will of God is not being done, and you are not being used?
In heaven the will of God is done joyfully, without weariness. Do I tire of doing God's will? Sometimes this preacher gets mighty near it, for the will of God is not the easiest things to do; it goes too deep and it hurts too much. In heaven the will of God is done humbly, without glory to anyone but Jesus. If I do the will of God, do I make it known that in this issue and that one I have done God's will, and I am progressing?
"Thy will be done in me, O Lord, as it is in heaven"—constantly, universally (in every part of my life), instantly (without hesitation), obediently, joyfully, humbly.
Do you think I am expecting a standard and adding a burden which is impossible? "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven"; said Jesus, "but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven" (Matthew 7:21). I set no higher standard than that!
But listen to the precious promise that He adds: ". . . whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, my sister, and my mother."
". . . he that doeth the will of God abideth forever."
Our Father, we thank You that we are Jesus' brothers, sisters and mothers. We thank You that we have been born again through the incorruptible seed of Christ. We thank You that Your word lives and abides in us forever. We thank You that You effectually work in those of us who believe. We thank You that You work in us to form Christ in us so we become like Him and we might increasingly desire to will and to do Your whole will in each of our lives.
Holy Father, we come and bow down and kneel before You. You are high and lifted up. You are our Lord. We are Your slaves. You are our Redeemer. Our hearts ache when we see our disobedience in light of Your great love poured out for us at Calvary. O, God, we are not worthy. We are no longer to live for our own wills but to live to do Your will and only Your will. We confess we are hard-hearted and uncircumcised. Sanctifying Spirit, open our ears and eyes and show us where we are resisting our Father's will. Jesus, our Sanctifier, baptize us anew with Your Holy Spirit so we might desire to will and to do Your will for us: Your entire will for us, without exception. O, Father, we long that Your will might be done in and through our lives and the life of the Church in earth as it is in heaven: "constantly, universally (in every part of my life), instantly (without hesitation), obediently, joyfully, humbly." May the words, "Thy will be done in earth as it is heaven" flow freely from our hearts to You in unrestrained worship and adoration to You for You are our God, You alone are the Lover of our souls and You alone are worthy.
Amen.
And my whole hope is only in Thy exceeding great mercy. Give what Thou commandest, and command what Thou wilt. –Augustine.
By His grace may we pray together, "Thy will be done in earth as it is heaven."
For His glory!
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