“And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to everyone according to his work.” - Revelation 22:12
Kempton New Church

Week 2
Day 1

    Listen:

The Lord’s Prayer

Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so upon the earth. —Matthew 6:10, Luke 11:2

The first three things we pray for

And it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He had ceased, one of His disciples said to Him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples. And He said to them, When you pray, say, Our Father, who art in the heavens, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done, as in heaven, so upon the earth. Luke 11:1-2

AC 2009:2 ...By “name” is not meant the name, but all things of love and faith; for these are God’s or the Lord’s, and are from Him. And as these are holy, the Lord’s kingdom comes and His will is done on earth as in the heavens when they are held to be so.

TCR 112:6. [Swedenborg was given to say,] “But let us return to the Lord’s Prayer, where it says, ‘Our Father, who art in the heavens; hallowed be Thy Name; Thy kingdom come.’ By these words you who are present understand the Father in His Divine alone, but I understand the Father in His Human. Moreover, this Human is the name of the Father; for the Lord said, ‘Father, glorify Thy name,’ that is, Thy Human; and when this is done, the kingdom of God comes. And the reason why this Prayer was commanded for the present time is evident, namely, that through His Human an approach may be had to God the Father. The Lord also said, ‘No man comes to the Father but by Me;’ and in the Prophet, ‘Unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given, and His name is God, Mighty, Father of Eternity;’ and elsewhere, ‘Thou, Jehovah, art our Father, our Redeemer, from everlasting is Thy name;’ besides many other places where the Lord our Savior is called Jehovah. This is the true explanation of the words of that Prayer.”

AR 839:6. We then said to them, “We are from the society of heaven which is called Michael, and we were sent to visit and inquire, whether you that are gathered together in this place have any religion or not; and we cannot know this otherwise than by asking questions concerning God; for the idea of God enters into the whole of religion, and by it conjunction is effected, and by conjunction salvation. We in heaven read that prayer daily, like men on earth; and we do not then think of God the Father, because He is invisible, but we think of Him in His Divine Human, because in this He is visible. And in this He is called by you Christ, but by us the Lord; and thus, to us the Lord is the Father in heaven.

“The Lord also taught that He and the Father are one; that the Father is in Him and He in the Father; and that he who sees Him sees the Father; also that no one comes to the Father but by Him; and likewise that it is the will of the Father, that they should believe in the Son; and that he that does not believe in the Son cannot see life; even that the anger of God abides upon him. From this it is manifest that the Father is approached through Him and in Him. And because it is so, He also taught that all authority is given unto Him in heaven and in earth.

“It is said in that prayer, ‘Hallowed be Thy name,’ and ‘Thy kingdom come.’ And we have demonstrated from the Word that His Divine Human is the Father’s name; and that the Father’s kingdom has then come when the Lord is approached immediately, and not at all when God the Father is approached immediately. Therefore, the Lord also said to the disciples that they should preach the kingdom of God; and this is the kingdom of God.”

Questions and Comments
  1. How does the Lord respond to the disciples’ request to be taught how to pray? Does this mean that we should use only the Lord’s Prayer when we pray to the Lord? Why is the Lord so specific in the words He gave us for prayer here and in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 6:9-13)?
  2. We see a trine in the first words of the Lord’s Prayer, which in the Greek word order is even more obvious: “Be hallowed Thy name; Come Thy kingdom, Be done Thy will.” How do these three initial prayers or petitions of the Lord relate to the trine of good, truth and use?
  3. Do we see any other trines or sets of three in the Lord’s Prayer?
  4. From all three readings from the Heavenly Doctrine, why do the second two petitions to the Lord depend on the fulfillment of the first petition?
  5. We are taught in Heaven and Hell that those who do not approach the Lord as the God of heaven, when they enter the spiritual world begin looking for a heaven where the Lord isn't God and where they can rule instead (HH 6). Given this teaching, what kind of kingdom do many pray for, who pray directly to the Father in the name of the Son, compared with those who pray directly to the Lord Jesus Christ as their Heavenly Father?
  6. Going back to the first verse of Luke chapter 11, how did John teach his disciples to pray? Do we have any indication?
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