Petitions 2 and 3: For His Kingdom and Will (6:10)
When we pray, too often we want to get on quickly to our own concerns. But in Jesus' model prayer, we first pray about the concerns of God's Kingdom and his will. This is not the petitioner's prayer so much as the disciple's prayer. This is how disciples are to learn to think and pray and act, with God's Kingdom foremost and predominant in their minds.
"Thy kingdom come...." What are we asking? We can't take this phrase or fragment without looking at the rest of the sentence, since the meaning is found in the context.
"Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven."
The Kingdom of God
The idea of the Kingdom of God is complex. It goes far back into the Old Testament, at least to the book of Exodus, where God reveals himself as Israel's King. He makes a covenant with them in the form of an ancient suzerain-vassal treaty, a treaty made between a great king and a subservient people (Exodus 19:3-6). The tabernacle in the wilderness is the throne room of a desert monarch. He leads them by day and night. Having no king but Yahweh is one of the unique marks of the Israelites, to the point that their clamoring for a king under Samuel's judgeship is considered a sin (1 Samuel 8).
Saul was Israel's first human king. David, born in Bethlehem, of the tribe of Judah, was the second king and becomes the archtypical king. He is promised that one of his sons will always sit upon the throne (2 Samuel 7), fulfilled ultimately in Jesus Christ. (I cover this in greater detail in my essay "What Is the Kingdom of Heaven?" www.jesuswalk.com/manifesto/kingdom-of-heaven.htm)
John comes proclaiming, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near" (Matthew 3:2), and Jesus takes up the same message (Matthew 4:17). He sends out his disciples with the authority to do miracles and proclaim to villages, "The kingdom of God is near you" (Luke 10:9, 11). The kingdom of God comes when Jesus proclaims God's reign, and demonstrates that reign by preaching good news to the poor, freedom for the prisoners, sight for the blind, release for the oppressed, and the Jubilee Day of the Lord (Luke 4:18-19). The kingdom is here in Jesus and his disciples -- and in you and me -- but it will come fully and completely when Jesus returns to earth to reign over all as King and Lord (Revelation 11:15).
May Your Kingdom Come
Jesus asks us to pray that the Kingdom of God come soon. As one of the last phrases of the Book of Revelation says, "Amen. Come, Lord Jesus" (Revelation 22:20). The Kingdom will only be present fully when Christ returns, when "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).
When we pray, "Your kingdom come," we are asking God to manifest the power and glory of his kingdom in us, and throughout our world. What a prayer! We are praying that Christ might reign over all. We are also asking the Father to hasten the return of Jesus Christ to this earth. Amen!
May Your Will Be Done on Earth
This petition is also a condition for prayer, that all our prayers conform first to God's will. How can we pray the kind of prayer that Jesus wants of us, and still ask for our petty desires which are so clearly contrary to God's revealed will in the Bible? Teach us to pray, Jesus, we say. Part of that teaching, surely, is to determine God's will and pray along those lines. Prayer for disciples is not to be selfish prayer, but prayer in tune with and guided by God's will.
When we pray, too often we want to get on quickly to our own concerns. But in Jesus' model prayer, we first pray about the concerns of God's Kingdom and his will. This is not the petitioner's prayer so much as the disciple's prayer. This is how disciples are to learn to think and pray and act, with God's Kingdom foremost and predominant in their minds.
"Thy kingdom come...." What are we asking? We can't take this phrase or fragment without looking at the rest of the sentence, since the meaning is found in the context.
"Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven."
The Kingdom of God
The idea of the Kingdom of God is complex. It goes far back into the Old Testament, at least to the book of Exodus, where God reveals himself as Israel's King. He makes a covenant with them in the form of an ancient suzerain-vassal treaty, a treaty made between a great king and a subservient people (Exodus 19:3-6). The tabernacle in the wilderness is the throne room of a desert monarch. He leads them by day and night. Having no king but Yahweh is one of the unique marks of the Israelites, to the point that their clamoring for a king under Samuel's judgeship is considered a sin (1 Samuel 8).
Saul was Israel's first human king. David, born in Bethlehem, of the tribe of Judah, was the second king and becomes the archtypical king. He is promised that one of his sons will always sit upon the throne (2 Samuel 7), fulfilled ultimately in Jesus Christ. (I cover this in greater detail in my essay "What Is the Kingdom of Heaven?" www.jesuswalk.com/manifesto/kingdom-of-heaven.htm)
John comes proclaiming, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near" (Matthew 3:2), and Jesus takes up the same message (Matthew 4:17). He sends out his disciples with the authority to do miracles and proclaim to villages, "The kingdom of God is near you" (Luke 10:9, 11). The kingdom of God comes when Jesus proclaims God's reign, and demonstrates that reign by preaching good news to the poor, freedom for the prisoners, sight for the blind, release for the oppressed, and the Jubilee Day of the Lord (Luke 4:18-19). The kingdom is here in Jesus and his disciples -- and in you and me -- but it will come fully and completely when Jesus returns to earth to reign over all as King and Lord (Revelation 11:15).
May Your Kingdom Come
Jesus asks us to pray that the Kingdom of God come soon. As one of the last phrases of the Book of Revelation says, "Amen. Come, Lord Jesus" (Revelation 22:20). The Kingdom will only be present fully when Christ returns, when "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).
When we pray, "Your kingdom come," we are asking God to manifest the power and glory of his kingdom in us, and throughout our world. What a prayer! We are praying that Christ might reign over all. We are also asking the Father to hasten the return of Jesus Christ to this earth. Amen!
May Your Will Be Done on Earth
This petition is also a condition for prayer, that all our prayers conform first to God's will. How can we pray the kind of prayer that Jesus wants of us, and still ask for our petty desires which are so clearly contrary to God's revealed will in the Bible? Teach us to pray, Jesus, we say. Part of that teaching, surely, is to determine God's will and pray along those lines. Prayer for disciples is not to be selfish prayer, but prayer in tune with and guided by God's will.
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