Was struck again by Willard’s comments on the Lord’s Prayer while I just finished chapter 1 of the Divine Conspiracy (slow & steady here!).
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So when Jesus directs us to pray, “Thy kingdom come”, he does not meanwe chould pray for it to come into existence. Rather, we pray for it to take over at all points in the personal, social and political order where it is now excluded: “On earth as it is in heaven.” With this prayer we are invoking it, as in faith we are acting it, into the real world of our daily existence. (p. 34, emphasis mine)
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This renewed injection of truth makes me “pray” even more intensely for people and spheres where “God’s rule” is frequently and sometimes intentionally excluded (for whatever reason or impulse). It hurts when i see those whom God loves are off track or “trying to run their own show.” There’s so much that’s contrary to His will … Thus, we pray …
“Thy Kingdom come … on earth as it is in heaven. Amen!”