Can I be honest with you? I have always found prayer a struggle. Whether it's remembering, concentrating or understanding, there are a number of factors that have inhibited my prayer life over the years. That is why I so relate to the disciples when they said to Jesus, "Lord, teach us to pray." And I am so grateful for Jesus' response in what we now know as The Lord's Prayer.
When I am struggling to find the words, this beautiful, profound prayer helps me to approach God with adoration, confession and supplication. Over the past year I have really appreciated saying this every day in our morning chapel services and there have been certain lines that have resonated very strongly with me and helped me to work through issues like forgiveness in my life.
One of the parts of this prayer that challenges the way we pray is 'your kingdom come, your will be done.' I know for me, prayers in the past have been more like, 'my kingdom come, my will be done' as I petition God for my wants and needs based on my limited perception of life. This is why these words are so helpful and so counter-cultural. Instead of demanding what we want, like God is some form of vending machine in the sky where a prayer goes in and an answer pops out, prayer is actually supposed to be an act of submission to the lordship of Christ and the all-knowing, all-wise will of the Father.
Although this kind of praying is harder sometimes, because we need to relinquish control of our lives (and those of others!), it is such a wonderfully powerful prayer that is completely in line with God's will, and therefore we know that he will answer. Whenever we are struggling to pray or overwhelmed by a situation or multiple situations, we can bring these words to our Heavenly Father in the name of Jesus: "your kingdom come, your will be done."
I used the beautiful Stamp of the Month, Peony Cluster, on this page in my Interleaved Bible. I stamped the peonies with Sage Versamagic ink, then coloured the images with pencils, trying a no-line colouring effect. This took a LONG time (multiple evenings of colouring!) but the result was worth it and it gave me the opportunity to meditate on this verse for an extended time. The text is mainly taken from the new Joint Heirs set, combined with Teeny Alpha, Love Your Neighbor (which is SO fab for tiny little words!) and His Name. I couldn't resist adding a couple of dimensional butterfly stickers form my stash to finish this off! Here are the sets I used:
I pray that God's kingdom would come and that God's will will be done in your lives and mine, and in the world around us!
x Amy x
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