His Glory through Your Gladness in Him – EGP Blog post from November 4, 2018
“I used to read and pray the Lord’s Prayer with THIS conception: the first three statements, I felt, … were ACCLAMATIONS or PRAISES, not REQUESTS, and then it was FOLLOWED by four requests. …
‘I PRAISE You Father that Your Name IS hallowed. I PRAISE You that Your Kingdom IS coming. I PRAISE You that Your Will IS gonna be done on Earth. And I have four things I NEED to be a part of that. I NEED food every day. I NEED forgiveness for my sins. I NEED freedom from temptation that would destroy me. And I NEED You to deliver me from the evil one. SO THAT I can be about these amazing things that I’ve just claimed.’
That’s NOT right. … ‘Hallowed be Your Name. Your Kingdom come. Your Will be done.’ Those are REQUESTS. Those are PETITIONS. They are just as much ‘I NEED’ and ‘I WANT’ as ‘I want You to do this IN me and THROUGH me’ as the other four are. … So, let me re-pray it the way I pray it NOW. …
‘Father, … CAUSE Your Kingdom to come, because, when everyone is GLADLY bowing down to Your Kingly Authority, THE central act every human heart in that Kingdom WILL BE the hallowing of Your Name. Father, SUBDUE all rebellion to Your Will. Bring EVERY human will on Earth into submission to YOUR Will. The center of every human will then WILL BE the hallowing of Your Name. Father, grant me ENOUGH food—I don’t want to be RICH; GUARD ME from riches—grant me ENOUGH food so that I have life and breath IN ORDER TO hallow Your Name. Father, FORGIVE my sins, because, if I don’t have forgiveness from You, I’m gonna be swept away in CONDEMNATION, spend the rest of my life BLASPHEMING You in Hell rather than HALLOWING You in Heaven. Oh God, PLEASE forgive my sins and make me a FORGIVING PERSON. Father, keep me out of DESTRUCTIVE temptation that would RUIN my life and take away EVERY inclination I’ve EVER felt to hallow Your Name. Father, GUARD ME from the evil one, who wants more than ANYTHING that I would live for MY name and not YOURS.’ …
The goal from which EVERY OTHER blessing in your life is given, is that we would REVERE, and HONOR, and ESTEEM, and VALUE, and TREASURE Him—His Name—above EVERYONE and EVERYTHING else. … His GLORY through your GLADNESS in Him. … Come what may. COME. WHAT. MAY. Because that GLADNESS is the ONLY soul-satisfying gladness in the world that lasts FOREVER and is FULL.”