“Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” Lord’s Prayer, Fourth Petition

It was once pointed out to me that each of the petitions in the Lord’s Prayer was actually lived out by Jesus. He called God “Abba, Father”. He hallowed God’s name in everything He did. He personally ushered in God’s kingdom and rule. He is our daily bread, the bread of life. He forgave us our sins. He said no to temptation and He ultimately delivered us from evil.

And Jesus lived out this petition as well. He did God’s will. The High Priestly prayer in John 17 demonstrates that Jesus knew He had done everything the Father had asked Him to do. He had accomplished God’s will during His earthly ministry, and He was now going off to do God’s will by giving His life as a ransom for ours.

And that leads us to the Garden of Gethsemane where He prayed that heart-wrenching prayer that the cup would be taken away from Him. The cup was God’s wrath over our sin, which Jesus was about to assume as His own. He did not want to suffer this separation from God, but He chose to do so because it was God’s will. Gods’ will was done, and Jesus was forsaken so that you and I never would be.

Because Jesus willingly submitted to God’s will to deliver us, we too can gladly now submit to God’s will. And God’s will is that we hallow His name and let His kingdom come among us.

I love Your kingdom Lord,
The place of Your abode,
The Church our blest Redeemer saved
With His own precious blood.
Amen.

(Timothy Dwight LSB 651 st. 1)