We Can Trust Him

How many times have you prayed the Lord’s Prayer? Yes, in your entire life … is there any way you can count how many times you’ve said it? I know I can’t. It’s not that I go to a church that recites it congregationally every week. It’s just that over the years I’ve said it a lot. A lot of years equals a lot of times.

The other night I went to a wedding where we joined the bride and groom in saying the Lord’s Prayer as part of the service. I’m so used to rolling through it that I was caught off guard that this particular church didn’t include the ‘for Thine be the glory’ section. Sometimes saying the Lord’s Prayer can be so mechanical that it takes a change in tradition to remind me to think about what I’m saying and not just say it.

In a recent small group Bible study, we looked at the Lord’s Prayer, and I was caught off guard again. But this time it was because of two of the discussion questions. The first one instructed us to look at Matthew 6:5-15 and make a list of all that we can know about God according to all of these verses. Simple enough. He sees what is done in secret. He knows what you need before you ask Him. He’s in heaven. He forgives us as we forgives others and visa versa. He has a kingdom He’s invited us to be a part of, and He has a will that He wants us to surrender to.

Fast forward through the discussion of ‘our Father,’ ‘hallowed be Thy name,’ and ‘Thy kingdom come.’ We were then asked to look back at the above characteristics and discuss what it would mean to pray ‘Thy will be done’ to this kind of God. Wow! What a perspective check! ‘Thy will be done’ implies a level of trust and dependence on the One to Whom it is said. He’s proven Himself faithful before; I can count on Him to be the same in the future. Those characteristics remind me He is certainly worthy!

I don’t know where you are in your spiritual journey but I imagine at this time in the semester you’ve got some doubts about being in seminary! Don’t give up! Read those chapters. Write that paper. Pull together that review. Trust the same God who faithfully walked you through the first twelve weeks to get you through the next three. And, while you’re at it, be sure to trust Him as you pray ‘Thy will be done!’