The Lord's Prayer--Second Petition

Thy kingdom come.

Many kingdoms have come and gone since Jesus spoke these words. The Roman Empire of Jesus’ day is no more. The Germanic, French and British kingdoms of Martin Luther’s day are only pale shadows of their former worldwide power. In our own era, we have seen the end of rulers like Hitler, Stalin, and Saddam Hussein. If history teaches us anything, it is that kings, and their kingdoms all eventually die.

Jesus instructs us to pray Thy kingdom come. But our Lord is not asking us to pray for an earthly kingdom that will eventually fade into history. In every age, there have been people who have misunderstood the concept of God’s kingdom. In Jesus’ time, some of the Jews believed that when the promised Messiah came, He would overthrow the occupation forces of the Roman ‘peacekeepers’ and establish a Jewish kingdom to rule the people. In our own day, some Millenialists believe that when Jesus returns, He will reign here on earth as king for a thousand years before passing final judgement upon us.

When Governor Pilate was interrogating Jesus, our Lord said: My kingdom is not of this world…my kingdom is from another place (John 18:36). Jesus was speaking of an empire far greater than any earthly nation, a kingdom that is supernatural, spiritual, and will never come to an end because its king is God Himself. Now, it is true that the Lord is ruler over everything—Psalm 24 says: The earth is the LORD's, and everything in it. The world and all its people belong to Him. But it is also true that much of this world refuses to accept the rulership of the King of the universe; the only place where the Lord’s rule is acknowledged and accepted is among those who belong to the Savior. This group of people, the Church, is the kingdom Jesus had in mind when He preached: The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news! (Mark 1:15) Admission into the kingdom of God is as close as the words "Jesus, please forgive me and make Your home in my heart."

Consider the words of Luke chapter 17: One day the Pharisees asked Jesus, "When will the Kingdom of God come?" Jesus replied, "The Kingdom of God isn't ushered in with visible signs. You won't be able to say, `Here it is!' or `It's over there!' For the Kingdom of God is within you." You are a member of the kingdom of God when you permit Jesus to rule in your heart. Think of it this way. You are an American. You are an American not because of where you live, because you can move to anyplace in the world and still be an American. What makes you an American is your loyalty to your country—your commitment to the guiding principles found in the Constitution, and you willingness to obey the laws made by the government.

Membership in the kingdom of God works the same way. It doesn’t matter where you live—you can be a citizen of the kingdom here on earth just as much as you can when living in heaven. What matters is your loyalty. Americans willingly submit to the leadership of their President, Congress, and Supreme Court; Christians willingly submit to the leadership of their Triune King, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Americans are committed to the ideals contained by the United States Constitution; Christians are committed to God’s ideals given in His Bible. Americans pledge allegiance to the red, white, and blue; Christians pledge allegiance to the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The kingdom of God is the Lord’s Church—all people who believe in Christ. It includes all true believers in Asia, Africa, South America, Europe and the Middle East. It includes the youngest baby made a child of the kingdom through the new birth in baptism, as well as the oldest grandparent who trusts in the forgiving power of Jesus’ blood shed on the cross. It includes everyone who has admitted their sins to God and asked Jesus to help them live a new life by following Him.

The kingdom of God is completely different from any earthly kingdom; in Romans chapter 14 Paul tells us: the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. This kind of kingdom is not built on military force but on the preaching of the Gospel. No one is drafted into unwilling service; the citizenship consists exclusively in those who have accepted Christ’s invitation. No one enforces the collection of taxes; offerings are given to God freely, in proportion to how we have been blessed by the Lord. Earthly nations lose their leaders and fall into decay; our King has risen from His grave never to die again, and His kingdom will last forever.

When we see that Thy kingdom come is a prayer for the Church, then we realize that this petition is a prayer for evangelism and mission work. It’s a prayer for the conversion of unbelievers, that they might join us in the ranks of those who have been saved from the sick perversions of sin and the cold grasp of the grave. It’s a prayer that God would be with us as we teach His Word to our children, as we tell our unbelieving friends and neighbors about the joy He’s placed in our hearts, as we send missionaries to every corner of the globe.

Thy kingdom come is a prayer for our Christian colleges and seminaries, a prayer that more of our gifted men and women would enter study for a career in church work, regardless of their age. It is a prayer that the Lord would protect His missionaries wherever they might be, and keep them enthused about their service in spite of every difficulty. It is a prayer that the teaching of pastors and missionaries, parochial school and Sunday school teachers, parents and grandparents might move the hearts of those who listen, provoke true repentance of sin, bring the comfort of Jesus’ forgiveness, and lead them to follow our Lord. Thy kingdom come is a mission prayer, a prayer for the souls of the lost.

But it is also a prayer for ourselves, for the security of our own salvation. Luther said: "God’s kingdom certainly comes by itself even without our prayer, but we pray in this petition that it may also come to us." Even though Paul was an apostle of God and had met Jesus personally, he did not take membership in the kingdom of God for granted: I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified (1 Corinthians 9:27). Regrettably, not every person who is baptized ends up in heaven; far too many lose interest in the Church, in being citizens of the kingdom of God. They let worldly interests distract them; they let their passions control their lives; they let Satan convince them that religion is for when you get old or sick, or that it is only for people who are too weak to live life on their own terms. The promise of baptism never fades—until the day of death, our heavenly Father waits for His prodigal children to return, waits to forgive us and welcome us back into the kingdom. But many forget about their baptism, in which God promised to always be there for them—and when they die, having forgotten God or ignored Him, they will find heaven’s gate closed, and when they pound on it desperately to get in, they will hear Him say: I don’t know you (Matthew 25:12). It is so that we might never face such an end that we pray Thy kingdom come—to us.

Thy kingdom come is also a prayer for the end of life on earth as it is now. Let’s face it—because of sin, our world is often a very unpleasant place to live. Paul says: we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. And even we Christians, although we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, also groan to be released from pain and suffering (Romans 8:22-23). We, too, wait anxiously for that day when God will give us our full rights as his children, including the new bodies he has promised us. Because of the sin that humankind has inflicted upon the world, there is pain and frustration everywhere—storms uproot trees, disease kills animals, and earthquakes damage the land. Because of sin, people struggle with birth defects, degenerative nerve and muscle disorders, diabetes, cancer, Alzheimer’s and, ultimately, death. And besides all this, our sins against each other continually ruin lives and destroy relationships. Even the most trouble-free of lives know the foul touch of sin every day, in one way or another.

In chapter one of his letter to the Philippians, Paul wrote: I live in eager expectation and hope that I will never do anything that causes me shame, but…that my life will always honor Christ, whether I live or I die. For to me, living is for Christ, and dying is even better. Yet if I live, that means fruitful service for Christ. I really don't know which is better. I'm torn between two desires: Sometimes I want to live, and sometimes I long to go and be with Christ. Like Paul, we feel both pulls—the pull to go on living because we want more time to serve our Lord in gratitude for all that He’s done for us, and the pull of heaven and the escape it offers from all the frustrations and pains of life. And so we pray for an end to this wrestling match—Thy kingdom come. We want our King to come in glory and put an end to injustice, conflict, and betrayal. We want Him to permanently rescue us from disease, disability, and the weaknesses of old age. And so we invite our Lord to come—come take us from this sin-sick world and give us unending life where the problems of sin had been done away with forever. Thy kingdom come tells our Lord that we are ready, whether He chooses to call us to Himself before this day is done, or He comes on clouds of glory with all the angelic host to send away sin and remake the world in its lost perfection. Either way, we would welcome coming into the presence of our Father, the King.

This means that when we pray Thy kingdom come, we are making a pledge. If we want this wretched existence of sin to come to an end sooner rather than later, then we must commit ourselves to a tight schedule, for the days remaining in which we can work for the Lord are few. We don’t want anyone to be eternally lost, locked out of heaven because they are not citizens of the kingdom of God. So we must use every opportunity that remains to share Jesus’ message: The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news! Do you know a relative or a friend who is not a child of God? Do you know anyone in your county, your state or anywhere in the world who does not pledge allegiance to the cross? Do you know a church member who is slipping away or drifting towards the brink? Then pray Thy kingdom come, and dedicate yourself to serving the Lord to help make that prayer come true. The Lord will bless your efforts and His kingdom will come.