“‘Your kingdom come.’” – Matthew 6:10a

The Lord’s Prayer – Second Petition

God’s kingdom is Christ’s rule in the hearts of his true believers. The throne of the Lord is our hearts. He established his loving dominion over us when the Holy Spirit brought us to faith by the gospel. And ever since, the Holy Spirit has continued to strengthen our Lord’s rule in us by the power of God’s Word.

Under Jesus’ rule, we are relieved of the guilt of our sins and freed from the fear of condemnation. In God’s kingdom we have the spiritual peace of full and free forgiveness through Christ. Furthermore, we have spiritual freedom in God’s kingdom. Jesus sets us free from our fears and worries. He fills us with confidence in the truth that he is our Redeemer who bought us back from the power of Satan and freed us from painful and eternal separation from God when we die. And he fills our lives with purpose and meaningful existence as his followers by faith.

Since we are already members of God’s kingdom by faith, why does Jesus teach us to pray for God’s kingdom to come? There are three reasons: wicked Satan, the evil world, and our sinful flesh. The devil persistently strives to win us back under his dominion. The world’s sinful allurements offer many temptations. Our sinful natures weaken our faith with worries and doubts. Since the devil, the world and our sinful flesh wage constant war against our spiritual life and saving faith, Jesus teaches us to pray for God’s kingdom to come. Our Lord wants us to pray that his rule in our hearts be strengthened each day by the power of God’s Word. He wants us preserved in faith until finally we are taken from this world, where we have enjoyed God’s kingdom of grace, to heaven where we will eternally live in his kingdom of glory!

But this petition is not only a prayer for the strengthening of Christ’s rule in us now, but also a prayer that the Holy Spirit by the gospel’s message lead those who still grope in the darkness of unbelief to the light of saving faith in Christ.

When we pray this mission prayer, let’s expect that God will answer this prayer by using us to spread the saving message of Jesus Christ. God’s kingdom has come to us and we are richly blessed by its benefits. Our Lord has commissioned us to share the gospel with the world. In this way God’s kingdom comes to others.