Saturday, September 11, 2021

Praying "On Earth, As It Is In Heaven"

In the Lord's Prayer, Jesus taught us to pray "On Earth, As It Is In Heaven" (see Matthew 6:10). This got me to thinking, 1) what would prayer be like in heaven? and 2) how would knowing this shape my earthly prayers? 

When we are in heaven & we get to spend eternity with God, what will be our conversation with Him?

We are going to PRAISE God for what He has done in our lives. 
We are going to THANK God for the way He moved through (out) our lives in ways we didn't even see or understand until we got to heaven. 
We are going to WORSHIP God for who He is and glorify Him because He is the only one worthy of our praise. 
We are going to CELEBRATE what He has done among the nations and how He has saved His people, the Church. 
We are going to THANK (again) God endlessly for the sacrifice His Son made.

When we are in heaven, I imagine that there will be no more pain, sorrow, tears, or death, so we won't be asking for healing, comfort, joy, or miracles. We won't be petitioning for ourselves or interceding for others. We won't be lamenting injustice or a broken world. We won't have new sins to confess and repent of. 

In heaven, I imagine that we will be WORSHIPPING, WAITING ON THE LORD, PRAYING SCRIPTURE, WATCHING, GIVING THANKS, SINGING, CONTEMPLATING/MEDITATING, LISTENING, and PRAISING GOD. 

Yet, when I consider what my prayers consist of on earth, I realize that I am overly focused on the confession, intercession, petitions, and other requests. I spend more time telling God what I want Him to do then praising God for what He has done. 

What would it be like if our prayers mirrored how I imagine our prayers in heaven will be? 
How would we go about our days if we spent our time worshipping God instead of asking Him to fix what we want Him to? 

How will we pray in heaven? That is how we should pray on earth.


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