Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven

 

 Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, "Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples."  So He said to them, "When you pray, say:

"Our Father in heaven,

Hallowed be Your name.

Your kingdom come.

Your will be done

On earth as it is in heaven.

Give us day by day our daily bread.

And forgive us our sins,

 For we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us.

And do not lead us into temptation,

But deliver us from the evil one."

 

And He said to them, "Which of you shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight and say to him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves; for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him'; and he will answer from within and say, 'Do not trouble me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give to you'?  I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs. 

"So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.  If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone?  Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish?  Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?  If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!"

 

- Luke 11:1–13 

 

Yesterday we read that, as Jesus was alone praying, His disciples joined Him, and He asked them, saying, "Who do the crowds say that I am?"  so they answered and said, "John the Baptist, but some say Elijah; and others say that one of the old prophets has risen again." He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"  Peter answered and said, "The Christ of God."  And He strictly warned and commanded them to tell this to no one, saying, "The Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and raised on the third day."  Then He said to them all, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.  For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.  For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost?  For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and In His Father's, and of the holy angels.  But I tell you truly, there are some standing here  who shall not taste death till they see the kingdom of God."

 

  Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, "Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples."  My study Bible says that "teach us to pray" is an expression of a universal longing to be in communion with God.

 

So He said to them, "When you pray, say:  "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven."  The Father-Son relationship within the Trinity is a revelation of our own potential relationship with God, my study Bible notes.  It says that Christ, the Son of God, grants us the privilege of calling God Our Father by the grace of adoption (Galatians 4:4-7).  As a "son of God," a Christian is called to love, trust, and serve God the same way Christ does the Father.  My study Bible adds that we must know that God is not our Father only because God created us.  God is only Father to those who are in a saving and personal relationship with God, a communion that comes only by the grace of adoption (see John 1:13; Romans 8:14-16).  

"Give us day by day our daily bread."   Daily, my study Bible notes, is a misleading translation of the Greek word επιουσιος/epiousios, which literally means "above the essence" or "supersubstantial."  The expression daily bread, it says, indicates not simply bread for today, for earthly nourishment. This is bread for the eternal day of the Kingdom of God, for the nourishment of our immortal soul.  This living, supersubstantial bread is Christ Himself.  In the Lord's Prayer, then, we're not simply asking for material bread for physical health, but for the spiritual bread of eternal life (John 6:27-58).  

"And forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us."  This request to be forgiven is plural, my study Bible asks us to note.  So, we're directed to pray always for the forgiveness of others.  The term debts is a reference to spiritual debts (see Matthew 18:21-35).

 

 "And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one."  My study Bible comments that God tempts no one to sin (James 1:13).  Temptations are from the evil one, the devil.  Temptations are aimed at the soul's giving in to the sinful passions of the flesh (Romans 7:5).  My study Bible further explains that no one lives without encountering temptations, but we pray that great temptations, tests beyond what we can bear (1 Corinthians 10:13), should not come to us.

 

 And He said to them, "Which of you shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight and say to him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves; for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him'; and he will answer from within and say, 'Do not trouble me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give to you'?  I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs."  My study Bible claims that this parable demonstrates God's faithfulness to those who are in need and who pray with persistence.  The patristic consensus interprets midnight as both the time of our death and a time of great temptation.  The friend is Christ, who, as our only source of grace, provides everything we need.  

 

 "So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.  If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone?  Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish?  Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?  If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!"  In Greek, my study Bible explains, these verbs rendered ask, seek, and knock imply a continuous action.  They're better translated as "keep asking," "keep seeking," and "keep knocking."  It says that God responds when we persistently ask for things that are good.  Bread, fish, and an egg are all images of life and symbolize the gift of the Holy Spirit (see John 14:13-14; James 4:3).  

 

Jesus speaks of asking, seeking, and knocking.  As this comes in response to a request to be taught to pray, we can understand that He's speaking of what we do in prayer.  As my study Bible points out, these verbs are given in a form that indicates continuing action:  keep asking, keep seeking, keep knocking.  But while modern concepts of prayer focus on asking for something, we need to look closely to see what Christ is suggesting, what it's presumed the disciples are asking, seeking, and knocking to find in response to their prayer.  He says, "If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!"  This is the thing most devoutly to be desired:  not for all our material woes to be solved, not for our wishes and dreams in a worldly sense, but to be given the Holy Spirit and the gifts of the Spirit that involves.  St. Paul names the fruit of the Spirit in this way:  "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law" (Galatians 5:22-23).   Do we pray for such things?  When we seek to pray -- or to learn how to pray -- is it with such blessings and fruit in mind?  How much do we value these things?  When Jesus speaks to His disciples, it is with a foundation in the things He teaches, the life of the Kingdom He has come into the world to give us and to teach us about.  When He makes disciples, it is those who wish this life, who devoutly wish the Holy Spirit and the gifts and fruit of the Spirit.  We are taught to pray by Jesus with this grounding in mind, the orientation of this Kingdom devoutly to be wished.  We pray for the will of the Father to be done in this world as it is in heaven.  Let us think about what that means for us, and what we wish to be a part of.  For to pray for this Kingdom and for God's will to be done on earth as it is in heaven is to understand that we commit to this will and this Kingdom by living it in the world, by bearing the values of God's will into the world, and seeking to live and to do that will.  At the same time, let us understand that means practicing forgiveness, struggling against temptation, understanding our place in the spiritual battleground that is this world, to be delivered from the evil one who is the "ruler of this world."  How many understand this when we pray?  Bread, fish, and eggs give us images of the Spirit, my study Bible says; we think of the bread of life, the fish as that which was multiplied by Christ, the egg that would come to be a symbolic gift at Easter.  In the Greek of the text, the word for fish is ἰχθύς/ixthys.  Used as an acronym for the Greek words "Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior" (Ἰησοῦς Χριστός, Θεοῦ Υἱός, Σωτήρ) this ancient word for fish would give us the symbol of the early Church.  By contrast, serpents and scorpions are images of devils and demons.  Again these are images of contrasting kingdoms in spiritual warfare.  Let us remember the spirit in which we're given prayer, the things devoutly to be wished for and prayed for, the promise of the Holy Spirit Jesus makes to us here.  

 

Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven

 

 Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, "Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples."  So He said to them, "When you pray, say:

"Our Father in heaven,

Hallowed be Your name.

Your kingdom come.

Your will be done

On earth as it is in heaven.

Give us day by day our daily bread.

And forgive us our sins,

For we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us.

And do not lead us into temptation,

But deliver us from the evil one."

 

And He said to them, "Which of you shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight and say to him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves; for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him'; and he will answer from within and say, 'Do not trouble me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give to you'?  I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs.

"So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.  If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone?  Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish?  Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?  If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!"

- Luke 11:1-13 

 

 On Monday, we read that, as Jesus was alone praying, His disciples joined Him, and He asked them, saying, "Who do the crowds say that I am?"  So they answered and said, "John the Baptist, but some say Elijah; and others say that one of the old prophets has risen again."  He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"  Peter answered and said, "The Christ of God."  And He strictly warned and commanded them to tell this to no one, saying, "The Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day."  Then He said to them all, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.  For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.  For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost?  For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father's, and of the holy angels.  But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the kingdom of God."

 

Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, "Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples."  My study Bible comments that the demand, teach us to pray, expresses a universal longing to be in communion with God.

"Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name.  Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven."  My study Bible comments here that the Father-Son relationship within the Trinity is a revelation of our potential relationship with God.  Christ who is the Son of God, grants us teh privilege of calling God Our Father by the grace of adoption (Galatians 4:4-7).  As a "son of God," a Christian is called to love, trust, and serve God as Christ does the Father.  It further notes that God is not our Father simply because God is our Creator.  God is only Father, it says, to those in a saving and personal relationship God, a communion that only comes through the grace of adoption (see John 1:13; Romans 8:14-16).  

"Give us day by day our daily bread."  The word daily as used here is a misleading translation of the Greek word ἐπιούσιος/epiousios.   This compound word literally means "above the essence," or "super substantial."  So, my study Bible comments, the expression daily bread is meant to indicate not merely bread for this day, for earthly nourishment; it is the bread for the eternal day of the Kingdom of God, for the nourishment of our immortal soul.  This living, super-substantial bread is Christ Himself.  In the Lord's Prayer, then, we aren't asking only for material bread for physical health, but for the spiritual bread of eternal life (John 6:27-58).  

"And forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us."   My study Bible points out to us that this request to be forgiven is plural.  Therefore we're directed always to pray for the forgiveness of others.  The term debts (everyone who is indebted to us) refers to spiritual debts (see Matthew 6:14-15; 18:21-35).  

"And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one."  My study Bible comments that god tempts no one to sin (James 1:13), and that temptations are from the evil one, the devil.  It notes that temptations are aimed at the soul's giving in to the sinful passions of the flesh (Romans 7:5).  It explains that no one lives without encountering temptations, but we pray that great temptations, tests beyond what we can bear (1 Corinthians 10:13), should not come to us.

And He said to them, "Which of you shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight and say to him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves; for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him'; and he will answer from within and say, 'Do not trouble me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give to you'?  I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs."  My study Bible remarks that this parable demonstrates God's faithfulness to those who are in need and who pray with persistence.  In patristic literature, there is a common interpretation of midnight as both the time of our death and a time of great temptation.  The friend is Christ, who, as our only source of grace, provides everything we need.

"So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.  If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone?  Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish?  Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?  If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!"   My study Bible notes that in Greek, these verbs which are rendered ask, seek, and knock are in a form that implies continuous action.  They are better translated as "keep asking," "keep seeking," and "keep knocking."  It says that God responds when we persistently ask for things that are good.  Bread, fish, and an egg are all images of life -- here, they symbolize the gift of the Holy Spirit (see John 14:13-14; James 4:3).  

 

 Today's reading comes "out of order," so to speak, in the recent daily readings in Luke.  We assume that this is because the lectionary is preparing us for the Feast of the Ascension, which is celebrated tomorrow in the Western Churches (and also in the Armenian Apostolic Church).  The passage above was in yesterday's reading, but it is a preparation for tomorrow's celebration of Christ's Ascension.  It is fitting that we look closely at this passage following Monday's reading, because both ask us to think about the kingdom of God.  In Monday's commentary, we drew upon the notes in my study Bible regarding the last verse, But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the kingdom of God.  My study Bible commented that this applies to those in each generation who experience the presence of God.  Today's great emphasis on prayer, with its centerpiece of Christ giving us what we call the Lord's Prayer, greatly empowers us to seek that experience of the presence of God.  When we pray, "Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven," what else are we doing besides praying for that presence of the kingdom of God?  In some sense, we are acknowledging that by living and doing Christ's commands, in praying commensurately for God the Father's will to be done on earth as it is in heaven, we are accepting to bear that Kingdom within ourselves and among ourselves, for it is in the living out of that will, given through Christ's commandments, that we accept to participate in that Kingdom, securing it in the world.  This is the whole basis of the Church.  In Luke's 17th chapter, Jesus tells the Pharisees, in answer to their demand to know when the kingdom of God would come, "The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, 'See here!' or 'See there!' For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you" (Luke 17:20-21).  That "within you" can also mean "among you" in Greek.  One presumes we are meant to understand both meanings at once, as is so often the case in the Gospels.  Furthermore, let us note carefully Christ's emphasis on the giving of the Holy Spirit as something for which we pray and plead to God.  This is the reality of the presence of the kingdom of God, for where one Person of the Trinity is present, so is the fullness of the Trinity.  If we read John's 14th chapter, Jesus tells us all about this gift of the Holy Spirit, assuring us of the link between doing Christ's commandments, and receiving this Helper.  Jesus tells the disciples, "If you love Me, keep My commandments.  And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you" (John 14:15-17).  And He says, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father’s who sent Me. These things I have spoken to you while being present with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you" (John 14:23-26).  Keeping His word is linked to the love and presence of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, teaching us and dwelling with us, in the words of Christ, making Their home with us.  Let us consider, in this light, the power of prayer, and especially the power of this prayer.  For this prayer says it all.  It is the one given to us by Christ.  We need now and at all times, and in every generation, the power of the presence of the Kingdom, of Father, Son, and Spirit.  We have been given this tool and gift of prayer, of discipleship, the commandments of Christ, and most powerfully of all, the love of God.  

Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven

 

 Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, "Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples."  So He said to them, "When you pray, say:  

Our Father in heaven,

Hallowed be Your name.

Your kingdom come.

Your will be done

On earth as it is in heaven.

Give us day by day our daily bread.

And forgive us our sins,

For we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us.

And do not lead us into temptation,

But deliver us from the evil one."

And He said to them, "Which of you shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight and say to him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves; for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him'; and he will answer from within and say, 'Do not trouble me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give to you'?  I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs.

"So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.  If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone?  Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish?  Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?  If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!"

 - Luke 11:1–13 

 

Yesterday we read that Jesus and the disciples entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house.  And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus' feet and heard his word.  But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, "Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone?  Therefore tell her to help me."  And Jesus answered and said to her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things.  But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her." 

 Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, "Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples."   My study bible says that the request, teach us to pray, expresses a universal longing to be in communion with God 

"Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name.  Your kingdom come.  Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven."  My study bible comments here that the Father-Son relationship within the Trinity is a revelation of our own potential relationship with God  Christ is the Son of God, and He grants us that privilege of calling God Our Father by the grace of adoption (Galatians 4:4-7).  Therefore, as one who is also a "son of God" (regardless of gender; "son" indicates one is an heir), each Christian is called to love, trust, and serve God just as Christ does the Father.  My study bible also notes that God is not our Father just because He is our Creator.  God is only Father to those who are in a saving and personal relationship to God, a communion that comes only through the grace of adoption (see John 1:13, Romans 8:14-16).  As heirs to this kingdom, so we all pray that God's will be done on earth as it is in heaven; this includes our own walk in the path of Christ.

"Give us day by day our daily bread."  My study bible tells us that daily is a misleading translation of the Greek word epiousios/επιούσιος, which literally means "above the essence," or "supersubstantial."  The expression in the prayer, daily bread, indicates not simply bread for today.  It is neither merely a plea for earthly nourishment.  The word in Greek indicates the bread for the eternal day of the Kingdom of God, and for the nourishment of our immortal soul.  It is an acknowledgement of the fullness of our humanity, our need for a deeper nourishment than something worldly.  This living, supersubstantial bread, my study bible says, is Christ Himself.  Therefore, in this prayer, we aren't simply asking for material bread for physical health, but for the spiritual bread of eternal life (John 6:27-58).  We ask for that which nurtures, sustains, and deepens the fullness of identity in Christ.

"And forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us."  My study bible calls to our attention that this request to be forgiven is plural, noting that it directs us to pray always for the forgiveness of others.  Debts refers to spiritual debts (see 18:21-35). 

"And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one."  A note here tells us that God tempts no one to sin (James 1:13).  Rather, temptations are from the evil one, the devil.  Temptations are aimed at the soul's giving in to the sinful passions of the flesh (Romans 7:5); such temptations come in many forms, which may sometimes be hard to recognize - but experience, with prayer, becomes our teacher.  My study bible adds that no one lives without encountering temptations, but we pray that great temptations, tests beyond what we can bear (1 Corinthians 10:13), should not come to us.

"So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.  If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone?  Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish?  Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?  If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!"    In the original Greek, these verbs which are translated ask, seek, and knock are in fact in a form that implies continuing action.  They are better translated, "keep asking," "keep seeking," and "keep knocking."  My study bible teaches that God responds when we are persistent in asking for things that are good.  The words that Christ uses:  bread, fish, and an egg, are images of life.  They all symbolize the gift of the Holy Spirit (see John 14:13-14, James 4:3).

Jesus teaches us how to pray.  Let us remember that He is speaking to His disciples, one of whom requests that they be taught how to pray.  The disciple cites the example of John the Baptist.  Many of Christ's disciples were first disciples of the Baptist, and the text indicates that John taught his disciples ways to pray.  So, this request is made of Jesus, clearly after observing Jesus in prayer.  No doubt -- as the Gospels tell us in various places that Jesus withdrew for prayer -- this is the way discipleship works; we are meant to learn by imitating our Teacher (6:40).  And so, this is how we come to this prayer in the Church, which is universally known and heard at every liturgy.  It is often titled, "The Lord's Prayer," as this is the prayer He gives to the disciples in response to the request.  But a message which is as urgently given as the prayer itself is for praying with persistence.  This is not meant to be a one-time prayer.  It's not even meant for simply once on Sundays.  The injunction by Christ which accompanies the prayer is for us to keep asking, keep seeking, and keep knocking.  Ultimately, the symbols of life which Jesus gives -- bread, fish, an egg -- are symbols of the life meant to be lived by the disciples.  That is, they are images of life in Christ, of an eternal life which opens into this kingdom of heaven, even as we live our lives here on earth.  Jesus speaks explicitly of the gift of the Holy Spirit.  In the Creed, the universal Church calls the Holy Spirit "the giver of life."  Therefore, when Jesus urges us to keep praying persistently -- to keep asking, seeking, and knocking -- we are seeking the Holy Spirit, the giver of life, to dwell in us and pray in us, to continue enhancing and enriching our lives so that we may have the life in abundance promised by Christ (John 10:10).  In this place of prayer to Our Father, in which we proclaim, as does Jesus, that we are all "sons" and therefore heirs by adoption, we pray to be given even more greatly the gift of life, the Holy Spirit.   For the Holy Spirit is the Lord (the Third Person of the Trinity) who dwells with us and among us, in whose place is the presence of the Kingdom with us, and who enlivens our own lives so that we bear the Kingdom into the world ourselves.  We might add that where the Lord the Holy Spirit is present, so are Father and Son.  Where God is present, so is God's kingdom -- as well as the eternal reality of that Kingdom.  In other words, if we can wrap our heads around it, we might come to understand that in prayer we not only seek God's presence and help in our daily lives, but we are also knocking, seeking, and asking in the place of the eternal day of the Kingdom of God.  We seek and ask and knock for the gift of life beyond the limitations we know, even of time and space.  In this way, prayer truly acts to help us to transcend our present problems, the limitations of life and circumstances we can't necessarily see around or find our ways out of -- and it connects us with that place where all is reconciled in Christ.  Our prayer is communion with the Kingdom that lives beyond the present day, beyond time and space, and connects us to the ultimate union with the Teacher.  In this way, prayer works in a subtle sense, where insight may become possible, a flash of enlightenment about how to proceed through a problem, as well as the great gift of the peace that passes understanding (Philippians 4:7).  Prayer is the essential movement toward communion with God that must accompany all things in life, for it connects us with God who knows our deepest troubles and who shows us the way through all things, even our own stumbling blocks.  Let us not forget that we are not meant to live lives in limitation, but to seek that place of the Kingdom always, so that we may be the disciples who bring the kingdom of God near (10:9).