As Lord Baldwin wrote recently in "The Times," "Thy Will be done on earth" is not only a prayer for guidance, but a call to action; His Will is our peace. "Thy Will be done." It can't be done unless we help, for God has given us free-will. He does not compel us to do His Will, for then we should not have freewill But if we pray and not merely say, "Thy Will be done," then we shall actively help His Will to be done and example is better than precept. In our everyday life, we are to "show forth God's praise not only with our lips, but in our lives." Influence, even yours and mine, does count.
Why am I in this world? To develop my character, my personality; the better our personality, the better our influence, small though it be. Then, we must begin with ourselves—"Thy Will be done in me, O Lord" and then may I the better help it to be done, around me, on earth. Thus may we prove our gratitude and let us not forget that we must prove it by actions, the small no less than the big, for I expect to pass through this world but once. Any good, therefore, that I can do, or any kindness that I can show to any fellow creatures, let me do it now. Let me not defer it or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.