Why did Jesus tell us to pray, "Let your name be sanctified. Let your Kingdom come. Let your will take place, as in heaven, also on earth"?

Question

Why did Jesus tell us to pray, "Let your name be sanctified. Let your Kingdom come. Let your will take place, as in heaven, also on earth"?

2 Answers

Answer Question

Answer 1

What might be a better question is, Why, when Jesus said to pray "not in vain repetitions as the Heathen do" have two millennia of Christians vainly repeated the words attributed to him, and which we call "The Lord's Prayer".

Just supposing for a moment that Jesus actually lived, and supposing even more that he was, as is claimed, a manifestation of God, isn't it more likely that he was really saying, "When you pray, don't turn your prayers into a mantra. Don't turn them into a wish list, either. Here's a model you can use but for Christ's sake don't just repeat it over and over without meaning."

Answer 2

“Let your name be sanctified.”

From the beginning of human history, God’s sacred name has been smeared with lies. Jesus prayer is that people will know God by his name and to sanctify, or honor, that name. (Psalms 83:18)

“Let your kingdom come.”

We should pray for God’s Kingdom to come because it is the government that God will use to accomplish his will in heaven and on earth. God’s Kingdom will put an end to war, sickness, famine—even death itself. (Psalm 46:9; 72:12-16; Isaiah 25:8; 33:24) When you pray for God’s Kingdom to come, you are praying for all those promises to come true.

“Let your will take place, as in heaven, also on earth.”

Jesus’ words suggest that God’s will is just as certain to take place on earth as it is in heaven, where God dwells. The Kingdom is the means by which God’s purpose for the earth is carried out. To accomplish that, the Kingdom will effect dramatic changes on this earth.