Thy Kingdom Come, Thy Will Be Done

I hate it when people rush through the Lord's Prayer. "Our Father, Who art in heaven, hallowed by Thy name. Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven..." You know the one. It frustrates me when people go on autopilot and don't deeply consider the words they are "praying."

I feel the same way about the serenity prayer. "God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. Living one day at a time, enjoying one moment at a time; accepting hardship as a pathway to peace; taking, as Jesus did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it; trusting that You will make all things right if I surrender to Your will; so that I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with You forever in the next."

Don't rush through. Think about the words. Mean them. Don't recite them. #frustrated

Lately, I find that most of my prayers are simply, Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done. I pray it a lot. I mean... a lot, a lot. I actually had to check myself. I don't want to pray these words just because I'm at such a loss with the circumstances of our world. I sincerely want His Kingdom to come and His will to be done. When will this woke generation wake up and realize it truly is the ONLY way to life and peace?

In the book of Haggai, the beginning of chapter two has the LORD speaking to the prophet Haggai regarding rebuilding the temple and declaring that His glory will return. 'Who remembers how it used to be?' He asks. 'Now it's as nothing in your eyes. Nothing is the same. Times have changed.' But then He encourages them to take heart, "Be strong," He says three times in one verse, "Be strong, all you people of the land... Work, for I AM with you, declares the LORD of hosts (Jehova Tsavah: The God of Angel Armies), according to the covenant that I made with you when you came out of Egypt (a reminder of the miraculous). My Spirit remains in your midst. Fear not. For thus says the LORD of hosts (repetition, 2x): Yet once more, in a little while, I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land. And I will shake all nations, so that the treasure of all nations shall come in, and I will fill this house with glory, says the LORD of hosts (3x!). The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, declares the LORD of hosts (4x!). The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former, says the LORD of hosts (5x!). And in this place I will give peace, declares the LORD of hosts. (6x!)."

Why do you think God reminded the people about rescuing them from Egypt...again? Because they always forgot. This was hundreds of years later, and the people needed to be reminded of what He had miraculously done for them in the past.

Why do you think the prophet repeats the powerful name LORD of hosts six times in a row? Because these people weren't focusing on Who they were dealing with and rebuilding for. "This is the God of Angel Armies! Supernatural Warriors capable of utter destruction of evil and earthly roadblocks. Hello!"

I admit it; I get overwhelmed by our current culture. Narcissism, bipolar, cancer, selfish ambition, witchcraft, gender wars...It seems too far gone to me and lost beyond salvation. But nothing is beyond the God of Angel Armies. Nothing. We pray His Kingdom comes and His will be done because it is the perfect prayer. It covers all of the bases. We aren't supposed to sigh heavily and keep our domain clean. We are to pray until the world looks like heaven! Until heaven comes and His will is finally done.

God, help us. We're weary and want to retire. We dream of a corner where we can find peace and do our time until we transition into Your Glory. Forgive us, forgive me, for not remembering the miraculous of the past. I pray that You will come, LORD of hosts, and shake the heavens, earth, sea, and dry land. Shake the nations until the treasure comes in, God. Fill our temples with Your Glory... for as bleak as things may seem, Your Presence is still with us. "Work...for I AM with you, declares the LORD of hosts." In Christ Jesus' Name... Amen.