My wife Julie and I have been reading A Layman Looks at the Lord’s Prayer by W. Phillip Keller. He is best known for A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23, which we read last year. His writing is rich with biblical insights and I commend his books to you.
In A Layman Looks at the Lord’s Prayer, Mr. Keller takes you through the Lord’s prayer phrase by phrase. The chapter on “Your kingdom comes” contains a section that articulates precisely what I have experienced. At age 26 I foolishly walked away from God and lived as a practical atheist for 20+ years.
I have been asked, “Why did you do that?”
I can answer that question with these words from Mr. Keller:
“The great majority are utterly unwilling to surrender the sovereignty of their lives to God. They have no intention whatever of abdicating the throne of their inner wills and hearts to the King of Glory. They are no more prepared or willing to accept the rulership of Christ than were those who shouted at His crucifixion, “We have no king but Caesar!”
“When all is said and done, most of us from our earliest childhood believe we are the king of our own castle. We determine our own destinies; we arrange our own affairs: we govern our own lives. We become supreme specialists in selfish, self-centered living where all of life revolves around the epicenter of me, I, mine.
“So, if I sincerely, earnestly, and genuinely implore God to come into my life and experiences, there to establish His kingdom, I can only expect that there is bound to be a most tremendous confrontation. It is inevitable that there will follow a formidable conflict between His divine sovereignty any my self-willed ego.
“When I pray, “Thy kingdom come,” I am willing to relinquish the rule of my own life, to give up governing my own affairs, to abstain from making my own decisions in order to allow God, by His indwelling Spirit, to decide for me what I shall do.”
These words get right to the heart of why I wanted nothing to do with God, His Word, and His people for so many years. I wanted to run my life. Luke 19:14 was my creed: “I do not want this man to reign over me.”
I acted as if God didn’t exist because I did not want to be accountable to Him. This is the essence of human pride and self-absorption.
And of course, I was stupid enough to believe this was the “right” way to live, totally oblivious to the fact that I was on the broad road that leads to destruction (Matthew 7:13).
Oh, how thankful I am today that my stubborn rebellion was no match for God’s amazing grace. While I was His enemy, He still loved me and by the death of His Son, I was “reconciled to God” (Romans 5:10). He overcame my stiff-necked resistance and drew me to Jesus (John 6:44). The Holy Spirit convicted me of the utter sinfulness of my sin, my need for His righteousness, and the eternal consequences of Judgement Day (John 16:8). What a wonderful Father we have!
“The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love . . . As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him” (Psalm 103:8, 13).
Does any of this resonate with you? If so, let me know by leaving a comment below. I’d love to hear what our heavenly Father has done for you.
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