Thy Kingdom Come
When I remember what church was like when I was young and I see what so many churches have become today, I cannot help but think how far we have fallen in ever area of life. “Precious Lord restore us. Lead us back to a deep respect and love and reverence for Your Word, Your house, Your Ways and Your ministers”.
“And it came to pass, that, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, one of His disciples said unto Him, Lord, teach us to pray . . .” Luke 11:1 “After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: for Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.” Matthew 6:9-13
Here we are given the model prayer by which to pattern our prayer life. It is not a model given by a layman, nor is it a model given by a pastor, nor was it developed exclusively for some high-powered seminar on prayer. It is a model given to us by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself — God in the flesh.
There is an endless depth to this wonderful prayer, from which we may glean an inexhaustible treasure of knowledge, but for the purpose of this article, I should like to focus briefly on Christ’s mention of His holy Kingdom.
Notice that, according to this model prayer, the Christian should always begin his or her prayer by acknowledging that God is our Heavenly Father, and by reverencing His Name. All Christians understand this, and many do so daily. But the next line of the prayer is a line that is neglected by most Christians today . . . Thy Kingdom come!
There is a coming Kingdom! Its King is the Lord Jesus Christ and His subjects are those whom He came to seek and to save. And according to our Lord Jesus Christ, we should be asking God on a daily basis for that Kingdom to be made manifest. In importance, He places it above that which is necessary for life, our daily bread. He also places it above our earthly relationships, and even above our own personal well-being. “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God . . .” The only thing He places above His Kingdom in this prayer is His holy Name.
Seeing that Christ’s Kingdom is of such great importance, it is indeed remarkable that it is so little spoken of among God’s people. Nevertheless, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ will return to this earth and He will establish that Kingdom! You can count on it! The prophets preached it, Jesus preached it, the apostles preached it, and we are to preach it.
It will be the climax of the ages! Our Lord Jesus Christ will come again, and will take the Throne of His father David, and will reign as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. “He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of His father David: and He shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of His Kingdom there shall be no end.” Luke 1:32-33
Then will the glorious Day at long last will have arrived when . . . “. . . the kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.” Revelation 11:15 “And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God.
