Holy Boldness

“Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven.” Here we see the scope of Jesus’ prayer life. His prayers cover the entire world. In one succinct line of this prayer, Jesus essentially taught His followers the core essentials of the kingdom of heaven. The Kingdom of God is the will of God being done on the earth as it is already being done in heaven. The fact that Jesus tells His disciples that this is what they need to be praying about reveals the ultimate objective of God. He intends to see His will done on the earth! The Kingdom of God is on the earth today and is expanding and it is the expressed will of God that His government spread over the entire earth. This will happen! The first two lines of the prayer establish its scope and ultimate objective and govern the rest of the prayer. Each succeeding line of the prayer is an extension and expansion of the first two lines. And yet the rest of the prayer brings the focus back to the simple and personal needs of His disciples. “Give us this day our daily bread.” The Lord Jesus instructed His disciples to make daily provision a matter of prayer, if for no other reason but to remind them of where their provision comes from. This truth was powerfully highlighted in Jesus’ first response to the temptations He faced in the wilderness. “Man does not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” As we learn to walk with God in advancing the kingdom, we will soon discover that the kingdom of God is not compatible with the kingdoms of this world which seek to control supply lines of food and provision. “Daily bread” is not just about food but everything a person needs to walk out one’s purpose on the earth. “Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.” Forgiveness serves as the foundational blessing of the Gospel. We get to start over after fail ing miserably. God’s people get fresh chances but there is a caveat. Part of receiving forgiveness is granting forgiveness to others. The Kingdom economy of the cancelation of debts so that people are no longer enslaved to their failures must be cooperated with. Receiving forgiveness demands the necessity of granting forgiveness to others. After Jesus finishes the final lines of the prayer He circles back to further explain and emphasize the importance of forgiving others. “If you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others then your Father will not forgive you transgressions.” Many believers in Jesus do not believe Jesus meant

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