Let Your Kingdom Come

When Jesus was teaching His disciples, He gave us an example that we call the Lord’s Prayer. In only a few verses, we can learn so much.

Matt 6:9-10 ESV “Pray then like this: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”

Acknowledging God as our Father, is the first step. He is a loving God who looks after us, and provides good things for us, as we grow. His desire is to lead us and guide us in His ways, through love. He understands that we do not always follow easily. We can be stubborn, willful, and think that we actually know better. After all, it is our life! At times He must see us as toddlers: those with so much potential, that just need to be guided in the right direction, so that we don’t get hurt as we learn to walk. I am sure that He is often amused as we stumble along, hoping we get the next few steps right and don’t land on our rear ends. We are immature, but so cute as we try to figure things out. At other times, He tries to warn us and redirect us, because He can see the trouble ahead. He’d like us to listen so we can avoid some of the trip hazards in our path. We need to remind ourselves that God is not like our earthly fathers. He does not get annoyed and impatient. He is not angry and frustrated by us. His love is pure and peaceable. We can trust Him.

The next phase of our prayer is to choose to worship the Father and honor His name. Jesus wants us to perceive who God is, and recognize His power, and love. The Bible reveals Him, displaying His actions and His character. We can grow to understand the depth and breadth of His love, by learning how He operates. We will come to trust His character when we have observed how His love moves Him to action, on our behalf.

It is just as it says in John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” Jesus’ sacrifice of Himself, for our redemption, should tell us all we need to know of His love. Yet we still miss the point at times.

Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. The character of the Kingdom of Heaven is the character of its king. He rules and reigns in righteousness and glory. His kingdom is holy. His will is performed in His kingdom. We need to pray that His kingdom would be revealed, and His will would be done, here on earth. How do you think this will come to pass? When we become citizens of God’s kingdom, we receive a revelation of who God is as redeemer and king. We are grafted into His family by our faith, and not our own works. Our heart and our desire changes. We now long to bless the king, and give him the glory due His name. We desire that His kingdom would rule and reign in our own hearts. We desire to please Him.

Hebrews 12:28-29 “Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.”

When we become citizens of heaven, we have the rights and privileges of our citizenship. We belong to the kingdom. Yet, we still wear the garments of our home in the world. We still reflect some of its habits and smells. Our spirit has been redeemed, but our flesh is in process. We now start a journey to get the characteristics of the kingdom of heaven into us! The garments seem strange and it does not feel like we fit into them very well. We must persevere in our spiritual growth so that the qualities of the king are reflected in us. Our character should look like His, and our behavior should begin to line up with our belief. God’s kingdom comes to earth through how we as His people reflect the king. We develop the fruit of the Spirit by hanging out and walking in the Spirit. Our personal transformation ushers in the Holy Spirit. We begin to exemplify the kingdom of God in ourselves. Others listen and observe, and notice that we’re different now. There is something special about what we’ve become. We usher in the king, when we carry His presence here on earth as it is in heaven.

Let us decide to be empowered by the kingdom of heaven, and may His kingdom come, here on earth, as it is in heaven!