We have seen in Study 3 that the first concern in our praying is God-centred. The first part of this concern was for the honour, or hallowing, of God’s name. The second part of this God-centred focus of prayer is God’s kingdom. Jesus told us to pray ‘your kingdom come’.
We have seen, when we studied the sovereignty and majesty of God, that he is indeed King of all the earth. The whole earth, with all of its nations and peoples, is his. Nothing is outside of his control or beyond his authority and power. Why then, do we need to pray ‘your kingdom come’? Because his kingdom, his rule, his authority, his sovereignty, are not acknowledged by all; the Scriptures make clear that this is a rebel world and we are rebellious people. From the first rebellion against his authority until the final elimination of rebellion described in Revelation and other Biblical books, there is cosmic rejection of his authority and rule. There is also a cosmic rejection of the principles and mindset of his Kingdom. It is only where the Spirit of God has taken the Word of God about the Son of God and shone into the darkness of men’s hearts that there is any reduction or reversal of this rebellion against the eternal King. And it is only there that we are set free from the bondage of the performance-based mindset of the kingdom of darkness and liberated to live in the life/peace mindset of the Kingdom of light. [Read Psalm 145 to get a feel of the joy of God’s Kingdom.]
These two aspects of God’s Kingdom combine to reveal a truth that is largely overlooked: the Gospel is ‘the Gospel – the good news - of the Kingdom’ [Matthew 4:23 ; 9:35 ; 24:14; Luke 4:43 ; 8:1; Acts 8;12]. God’s kingdom is the content of New Testament preaching [Mark 1:14; Luke 9:2,11,60; 16:16; Acts 1:3; 20:25; 28:23, 31]. Associated with this ‘good news’ quality of the Kingdom is the fact that it is something of great value and great attraction:
So, what are we praying when we say ‘your kingdom come’?
Luke records ‘Some Pharisees asked Jesus when the Kingdom of God would come. His answer was, “The Kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, nor will people say, ‘Here it is!’ or ‘There it is!’ because the Kingdom of God is within you.”’ [Luke 17:20-21’.
This is the personal or inner dimension of the Kingdom of God . This begins when we acknowledge Jesus Christ as Lord and God, when we realize, admit, and confess that Jesus Christ is exactly who he claimed to be, the Son of God, and who the Scriptures claim that he is, King of kings and Lord of lords. To receive Jesus Christ is to receive him as the King. He is no less that this. He can be no less than this. To receive Jesus Christ is to enter into his Kingdom and to embrace his Kingdom and its mindset and principles.
From that point of Christian confession onwards his Kingdom is within us. When we pray ‘your kingdom come’ we are praying that his Kingdom will be more and more of a reality in our lives:
We are praying for the ever-increasing impact of his Kingdom – his reign - in our lives.
Jesus taught: where he was present the God’s Kingdom drew near to men:
Jesus taught: where his followers went on his mission the God’s Kingdom drew near to men:
Jesus taught: to truly repent and believe meant entering the Kingdom:
Jesus taught: those who believe in him know the truth about God’s kingdom:
Jesus taught: the expansion of the kingdom comes by the proclamation of the Word of God:
Jesus taught: in his death and resurrection the Kingdom of God came with power; wherever that death and resurrection are proclaimed the Kingdom of God is seen:
Thus when we pray ‘your kingdom come’ we are praying that the Good News of Christ’s Kingdom [Luke 8:1; 9:2,11; 16:16; Acts 28:23] will be proclaimed, and that people will hear, and understand that in hearing this message about Jesus Christ, they are being confronted by the Almighty Sovereign Lord; we are praying that they will believe and repent, and thus enter into that Kingdom as it enters into them by the power of the Spirit of God.
It is here, under this heading of concern for God and his expanding Kingdom [Mark 4:30 -32], that our prayers for the conversion of our relatives and friends fit in. Here we are praying that his Kingdom will come to them: that someone will tell them of the good news of his Kingdom, that the Spirit of God will impact their hearts with the truth and urgency and wonder of the Kingdom, and that they will repent and believe, and so enter that Kingdom, born again by the power of the Spirit.
From Genesis 3 onwards there is an anticipation of the coming of God’s Kingdom. Many have been deluded over the millennia, thinking that the ultimate Kingdom is the Kingdom of Israel , while all the time national Israel is but a prophetic shadow of the real Kingdom. Many are still deluded, perceiving God’s Kingdom in physical, earth-bound categories. We must not allow ourselves to be deceived into a minimal view of the ultimate coming Kingdom for which we pray.
What does our prayer mean here?
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We are praying for the return of Jesus Christ: |
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1 Cor 1:7 |
‘… as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed’ |
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Titus 2:13 |
‘ while we wait for the blessed hope – the glorious appearing of our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ ’. [Read also 2 Timothy 4:1,8]. |
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We are praying for the final end of Satan and his demons, and sin and evil: |
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Matthew 13:41 |
‘The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that caused sin and all who do evil …’ |
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1 Corinthians 15:24,26 |
‘Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. … the last enemy to be destroyed is death …’ |
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2 Thess 2:8 |
‘… the lawless one … whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendour of his coming’ |
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Rev 11:15 |
‘The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign for ever and ever’ |
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| We are praying for the coming of the Day of Judgement/Day of the Lord | ||||
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2 Tim 4:1 |
‘In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom … |
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2 Tim 4:8 |
‘Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day – and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing’ |
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Jude 6 |
‘And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their own home – these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day’ |
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Jude 14 |
‘See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones to judge everyone, and to convict all the ungodly of all the ungodly acts they have done in the ungodly way, and of all the harsh words ungodly sinners have spoken against him’ [Read also: Matt 13:24-30, 37-43, 44-50; 25:31-46] |
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We are praying for the eradication of suffering: |
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Isaiah 11:9 |
‘They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea’ - read 11:6-9 |
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Romans 8:21 |
‘ … the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God’ |
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Rev 21:4 |
‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away’ |
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We are praying for the worldwide acknowledgement of Jesus Christ as Lord, when every one will know that he is who he claimed to be. |
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Rev 1:7 |
‘Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of him’ |
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| We are praying for the time when the faith of Christians will be validated and they will come into their inheritance [which is the kingdom] as children of their heavenly Father: | ||||
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Daniel 7:18 |
‘the saints of the Most High will receive the kingdom and will possess it forever – yes, for ever and ever’ |
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Daniel 7:22 |
‘… until the Ancient of Days came and pronounced judgement in favour of the saints of the Most High, and the time came when they possessed the kingdom’ |
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Daniel 7:27 |
‘Then the sovereignty, power and greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be handed over to the saints, the people of the Most High. His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all rulers will worship and obey him.’ |
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Matt 13:43 |
‘Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father’ |
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Matt 25:34 |
‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world’ |
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Coloss 3:4 |
When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory’. |
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Heb 9:28 |
‘ … he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him’ |
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1 Peter 5:4 |
‘When the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away’ |
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‘Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him?’ [James 2:5].
‘And I heard a loud voice in heaven say: “Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night has been hurled down’ [Revelation 12:10 ].
‘ ... The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign for ever and ever’ [Revelation 11:15 ].
We are praying for all of this and more when we pray ‘your kingdom come’. It is a massive prayer. In it are included: our prayers of personal commitment, our prayers for the conversion of people, our prayers for our church, our prayers for the work of local and worldwide mission, and our prayers for the return of Jesus Christ and all that that involves.
To pray ‘your kingdom come’ involves personal commitment to God’s kingdom.
Incorporate the powerful reality of ‘your kingdom come’ into your prayers during the next week.
‘He who testifies to these things says: “I am coming soon.”
Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.’ [Revelation 22:20]