The Lord's Prayer, Part 2

Scripture tells us to bring our petitions and cares to God, and to pray for His will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. How can we ask God to grant our requests and yet also pray for His will to be done? The purpose of prayer is not to twist God’s arm, but to align our thinking and will with His. We cry out to Him not knowing what will happen tomorrow, but believing that He is at work to providentially bring about what is right and good. When we trust God by faith with our hopes and fears, we will hold our own desires more loosely, and cast our will aside when it conflicts with His. We’ll pray with gratitude rather than grumbling, ask to be sanctified rather than comfortable, and yearn to be equipped for increasingly fruitful service in the work of His Kingdom. Do you want to see God at work in answering prayer? Pray for the hastening of Christ’s reign on earth, and for the wisdom to live by Kingdom principles now.