Q. 103. What do we pray for in the third request?
In the third request (which is, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven) we pray that God, by his grace, would make us able and willing to know, obey and submit to his will in all things,[a] as the angels do in heaven.[b]
[a]. Psa 19:14; Psa 119; 1 Thes 5:23; Heb 13:20-21
[b]. Psa 103:20-21; Heb 1:14
Comment on Q. 103.
God’s will as mentioned is not his secret plan (Deut 29:29), but his will as revealed or made plain in the Bible. The Scriptures tell us all we need to know in order to please God (2 Tim 3:16-17). Most problems of guidance arise because we are not prepared to follow Scripture teaching, or we are not prepared to do a bit of hard thinking and careful reflection as to what is for God’s glory.The angels are created beings without bodies like ours. They serve God without sin. Sometimes they appear in human form among men, but not much is told us in the Bible about them, and we must not try to be wiser than what is revealed.
Q. 104. What do we pray for in the fourth request?
In the fourth request (which is, Give us today our daily bread) we pray that by God’s free gift we may receive a sufficient share of the good things of this life, and enjoy his blessing with them.[a]
[a]. Pro 30:8-9; Mat 6:31-34; Php 4:11, 19; 1 Tim 6:6-8
Comment on Q. 104.
God cares about our whole life, even the food we need each day. As sinners we have no right to God’s gifts but can have them only because of his mercy. Receiving good things from our heavenly Father, we should enjoy them and thank him for them.
Q. 105. What do we pray for in the fifth request?
In the fifth request (which is, Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors) we pray that God, for Christ’s sake, would freely pardon all our sins;[a] and we are encouraged to ask this because, by his grace, we are enabled from the heart to forgive others.[b]
[a]. Psa 51:1-2, 7, 9; Dan 9:17-19; 1 John 1:7
[b]. Mat 18:21-35; Eph 4:32; Col 3:13
Comment on Q. 105.
Jesus teaches us that sins are like debts – there is an obligation incurred that remains until payment is made. Jesus, by his sacrifice, has made the payment on behalf of his people. If we belong to Christ we will continue to confess our sins and we will learn to forgive others because we ourselves have been freely forgiven a much greater debt by God (see Mat 18:23-25).
