# LCMS Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1947_S5
# Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

OPENING ADDRESS 3

work of missions to South America, India, China, Africa, and, more
‘recently, also to the Philippines.

“Thy Kingdom come” should be a dominant note in our great
jubilee prayer. It should be a dynamic force to constrain our
great church body, so abundantly blessed, unto far more aggressive
mission activity. A burning passion for the souls of the millions
of unchurched children and adults in our own country and of the
hundreds of millions of benighted people in foreign lands should
animate every member of our Synod. “Thy Kingdom come”
uttered daily should compel each one of us to be a personal witness
unto Christ, both by word of mouth and by our life and conduct.
“Thy Kingdom come” should make every one of us eager to share
the blessings of the Gospel with others and consequently to sup-.
port missions at home and abroad with our prayers and our gifts.
“Thy Kingdom come” translated into action will spell the estab-
lishment and maintenance of more Christian schools for the thor-
ough indoctrination of our people and for effective training of
efficient workers in the Kingdom.

“Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” — Our fathers
realized full well that God’s will is done indeed without our prayer,
but they prayed fervently that God’s good and gracious will might
be done both upon them and by them. If God’s will was to be
done, it meant that every evil counsel and will which would not
let them hallow God’s name nor let His kingdom come must be
broken and hindered. It necessitated that God strengthen and
preserve them steadfast in His Word and faith unto the end. The
fathers had need of this prayer. The devil and his allies were
decidedly busy to foil and to prevent the growth and expansion
of our Synod. Attacks were hurled against our Church both from
without and from within. But God heard the prayers of His
people. Again and again He repulsed the attacks and fulfilled His
gracious will both for and through our Synod.

“Thy will be done” must be our fervent prayer today. God’s
will is and should be paramount. Nothing else really matters.
If God carries out His good and gracious will in our lives, all
is well with us. If we carry out God’s good and gracious will
in our lives, we become instruments in His hands that His name
may be hallowed and His kingdom come. The angels in heaven
set the pattern for us. The Savior taught us to pray: “Thy will
be done on earth as it is in heaven.” A high standard indeed!
By God’s grace and as He supplies unto us ability and strength
we should enter this second century of synodical activity with
God-given determination to conform ever more closely to the
pattern set by God’s angels in heaven.

“Give us this day our daily bread.” — Anyone acquainted with