Lessons in the Small Catechism of Dr. Martin Luther For the Senior Department of Lutheran Sunday-Schools and for General Use · George Mezger
LESSON 42.
The Lord's Prayer. The Third Petition. What is the Third Petition? _Our Father who art in heaven, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven._ What does this mean? _The good and gracious will of God is done indeed without our prayer; but we pray in this petition that it may be done among us also._ How is this done? _When God breaks and hinders every evil counsel and will which would not let us hallow God's name nor let His kingdom come, such as the will of the devil, the world, and our flesh; but strengthens and preserves us steadfast in His Word and faith unto our end. This is His gracious and good will._ 1. We pray in this petition that the will of our Father in heaven may be done. _His will is a good and gracious one._ Being the will of our heavenly Father, how could it be otherwise than good and gracious? He wills, or desires, that His name be hallowed among us, that His kingdom may come to us and all men, or, in other words, _that all men be saved. "God will have all men to be saved and to come unto the knowledge of the truth."_ 1 Tim. 2,4. He earnestly desires that His saving Gospel be preached to all men, that all men, by the grace of the Holy Spirit, may believe in Christ and through Him have eternal life. This is most assuredly the good and gracious will of our heavenly Father.
2. We pray that this will of our Father _may be done on earth, that it may prevail. "The goo and gracious will of God is done indeed without our prayer, but we pray in this petition that it may be done among us also,"_ that His gracious will may prevail against all such as try to hinder our salvation. 3. _How is the will of our heavenly Father done?_ Our Catechism answers: _"When God breaks and hinders every evil counsel and will which would not lat us hallow God's name nor let His kingdom come, such as the will of the devil, the world, and our flesh."_ There is an evil counsel and will here on earth. It is the will of the _devil,_ the _world,_ that is, all godless men, who are in the service of Satan, and of the _flesh,_ our own sinful heart, which is always in accord with Satan and the world. These our enemies do not want us to hallow God's name, to come into Christ's kingdom or to remain therein, to remain steadfast in faith, to remain true to Christ, our Savior. Theirs is an evil will, which desires to _lead us astray from God, our Father, into sin, into the power and the kingdom of the devil._ If their evil will and counsel prevails, we are lost. Against these mighty enemies we are powerless; we ourselves have no strength whatever to resist them and their temptations. Therefore we daily pray our Father in heaven to break and hinder their evil will and counsel, in order that they may not be able to fulfil their evil desires.
4. God sincerely desires us to be saved, to obtain eternal life. But our Lord says: _"He that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved."_ Matt. 24,13. We cannot endure by our own strength. _"Ye are kept by the power of God, through faith, unto salvation."_ 1 Pet. 1,5. Therefore we pray our dear Father to _"strengthen and preserve us steadfast in His Word and faith unto our end."_ We ask Him for Christ's sake to grant us strength to remain steadfast in His _Word,_ to continue to hear, read, and use it. By means of the Gospel the Holy Spirit will _preserve our faith_ in our Lord and Savior; through faith He will give us strength gladly to do His will and to live according to His commandments. In this way God will preserve us _unto our end,_ to our dying hour, and thus His gracious and good will is done. 5. God, our dear Father, _directs and guides our whole life_ according to this will of His to lead us to salvation. For this purpose our Father sometimes will permit _sufferings and troubles_ to come over us. In such times especially we should pray: _"Thy will be done,"_ my Father! Give me strength to remain steadfast and faithful in all sufferings and cheerfully to submit to your gracious will. Even our Lord Jesus Christ prayed in the hour of His deep agony: _"Not as I will, but as Thou wilt."_ Matt. 26,39.
6. The _first three petitions_ belong together. They are connected by the words _"on earth as it is in heaven."_ We pray that our Father's name may be hallowed on earth as it is hallowed in heaven, that His kingdom may come to us on earth as it is in heaven, and that His gracious will may be done among us on earth as it is done in heaven. _We ask our heavenly Father for His heavenly gifts._ These gifts we most urgently need, and therefore our Lord teaches us to pray for them first of all. 1. _We pray in this petition: My dear heavenly Father, break and hinder every evil will of my enemies, the devil, the world, and my own flesh, that I may hallow Thy name and Thy kingdom may come to me._ 2. _My dear heavenly Father, strengthen and preserve me in Thy Word and in true faith unto my end, to my dying hour, that Thy gracious and good will may be done._ _God will have all men to be saved and to come unto the knowledge of the truth._ 1 Tim. 2,4. _Ye are kept by the power of God, through faith, unto salvation._ 1 Pet. 1,5. _He which has begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ._ Phil. 1,6.
Text from Project Gutenberg, public domain in the United States.