The Lord\'s Prayer

This devotional is written by Cara Heppell. Cara has been a member of St Mary's for 15 years. She is a 4th year medical student currently intercalating in medical genetics with a moderate addiction to running. She works part time at cosmetic clinic so hit her up for 20% off botox.

'"Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, 10 your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us today our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one."

I prayed the Lord's Prayer hundreds of times as a child, but it wasn't until I was older that I stopped to think about what the words actually mean.

'Your kingdom come' is a particularly powerful line in this prayer and one which I have had difficulty understanding in the past.

Most of the parables Jesus told were about the kingdom of God. It was a central part of his teaching. While in these parables he was often referring to the future kingdom of God, in the Lord's Prayer he is referring to the present kingdom on earth.

So, when we pray 'Your kingdom come' we are praying that God will reign in our lives and that through the Holy Spirit His 'will be done on earth as it is in heaven'. Through the Holy Spirit, we are able to live in His truth and in the way He wants us to. Paul describes the kingdom of God as 'righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit' (Romans 14:17). When we see the Holy Spirit at work we are having a foretaste of what the future kingdom of God will be like. Our lives are made much better and we are made much stronger by being guided by the Holy Spirit and I feel incredibly blessed to be able to experience the joy and peace the Holy Spirit brings.