READ: Hebr. 1:1-14
Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. – Matt. 6:10b
God’s revealed will is not a noncommittal matter but a matter of obedience, of faith and gratitude. This is true not only in the Old but also in the New Testament. The Lord Jesus explains its importance in Matt. 7:21: “Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter into the Kingdom of heaven. But whoever does the will of My Father, who is in heaven.”
You may think that this obedience is not so important, since no one is perfect. But then we hear the Lord Jesus say in the Sermon on the Mount “Then be perfect, as your Father, who is in heaven, is perfect” (Matt. 5:48). The Lord wants us as God’s children to fit in with the Father and be obedient to Him. Especially as redeemed children, we want to show our gratitude, don’t we?
How far does that go? This is what the Lord points out in this prayer: “As in heaven, so also on earth.” That is not “both on heaven and on earth,” but in the same way as it happens in heaven, we as your children also want to do Your will. The angels are our example! They are perfectly devoted to God, they read the words from God’s lips, as it were, and carry out their mission without any contradiction. There is no will of their own that goes against God’s will. They are serving spirits. That is how we should be!
In fact, it is shameful that man, created by God as children in His image, should have to follow the example from angels who do not know that position, but are servants of service. This prayer shows our sinful deficiency: We constantly need God’s help and the power of His Spirit to fight against our own sinful will and to please God.
Do you think it’s important to know God’s will?
Singing: Ps. 103:8