Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Matthew 6:10
Reading the morning newspaper can be hazardous to your health. Consider these recent stories from one day: Cyberbulling law being considered. Taliban prisoner exchange fuels debate. France sells Russian warship amidst U.S. protest. Martial law considered for Eastern Ukraine. Attack on Yemen checkpoint kills 14. Manhunt as police shot in Canada. Charges detail chilling plot to kill 12-year-old classmate.
No wonder Jesus taught us to pray, “your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”
The Scriptures speak of heaven as the dwelling place of God, where all God’s attributes are manifested purely and perfectly. Psalm 97:1 declares boldly: “The LORD reigns, let the earth be glad,” expressing God’ssovereign rule over the expanse of both the earthly and heavenly realms. The imagery then continues in this breathtaking statement about the character and nature of God’s reign: “Righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne” (vs. 2). God is on his throne, the foundation of which is righteousness and justice—God’s perfect order. The way things ought to be.
Pause for a moment to consider all that is wrong in this world. Violence. War. Strife. Racism. Inequality. Economic oppression. Hatred. Slavery. Broken families. Arrogance. Poverty of mind and body. Disease. Sexual abuse. Things are not as they ought to be. Now imagine God’s reign and rule—his righteousness and his justice—invading all that is wrong and twisted. Violence ceases. War gives way to peace. Strife in families is extinguished by reconciliation. Perpetrators of slavery are caught and punished. Economic oppression is conquered by generosity. Arrogance and pride are overwhelmed by humility and service. Long-held grudges disappear in lavish forgiveness. In short, the kingdom and rule of God takes hold—on earth, just as it is in heaven.
“Your kingdom come” is a prayer and a plea. “Oh God, may your rule and reign that is perfect and rooted in righteousness and justice, increase in this broken world—as it is in heaven. May my life, my relationships, and every other area of my life be different because the Holy Spirit has emboldened and filled me. I yearn to see your will and ways dominate my life and the lives of those around me. May your kingdom come. Kingdom come.”
Tom Keppeler
PONDER: Pray the prayer in the previous paragraph. What part is most difficult for you to pray?
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• THERE IS A HIGHER THRONE •
There is a higher throne
Than all this world has known,
Where faithful ones from ev’ry tongue Will one day come.
Before the Son we’ll stand,
Made faultless through the Lamb; Believing hearts find promised grace— Salvation comes.
REFRAIN
Hear heaven’s voices sing;
Their thund’rous anthem rings
Through em’rald courts and sapphire skies. Their praises rise.
All glory, wisdom, pow’r,
Strength, thanks, and honor are
To God our King, who reigns on high Forevermore.
And there we’ll find our home, Our life before the throne;
We’ll honor Him in perfect song Where we belong.
He’ll wipe each tear-stained eye
As thirst and hunger die.
The Lamb becomes our Shepherd King; We’ll reign with Him.
Words and Music by Keith & Kristyn Getty Copyright © 2003 Thankyou Music
* * *
FAMILY TALK
In Matthew 6, Jesus teaches his disciples how to pray. Today we know this as the Lord’s Prayer. The Lord’s Prayer is powerful because it helps keep our prayer life in perspective.
Read Matthew 6:9-13. The first verse praises God: “Hallowed be your name.” Take some time to praise and thank God for what you are thankful for. Next, “Your kingdom come, your will be done” reminds us to ask God to help us conform to his will for our lives. How do you think God wants you to act? In verse 11, we ask for what we need. What do you need from God today? Then we ask for forgiveness for our sin and for God to help us forgive others. What do you need to ask God’s forgiveness for? Then close by asking for God’s protection.
Krista Heinen
The talent, God-blessed , that u provide is great. Didn’t think u could get a better lead singer than before but u’ve done that. God is clearly working thru ur spiritually-filled church!!!
Sometimes we become so infused with what is happening in this world of violence, disease, economic concerns that we become so overwhelmed with what is outside of us that we lose sight of what is inside of us – our Lord Jesus! I become anxious in the concerns of my adult children, my teen grandson, my toddler grand girls, and now my two ‘on their way’ grand girls facing challenges — facing those challenges without the Lord being at the forefront of their walks…so I have to pray constantly for His peace and Holding Hands of strength and guidance. He is a soverign Lord; all things work for His good and we must always thank Him…His will is being done! I do pray for the Lord Jesus to return but in the same breath in the same sentence I pray for a mighty harvest of souls to be saved! I do not want and truly cannot imagine anyone wanting to spend eternity in the separation from our Lord! So yes let His Kingdom come… but let the church be bold and share the gospel of Jesus, as that too is His Kingdom! We are all His church, and that is what I also pray for His Kingdom to come within me so I may be bold to share His gift with others!
Here’s a prayer, based on the Lord’s Prayer…
A Prayer for Life
Dick Robinson
Lord Jesus, for most of us, for most of our life, we have prayed to You, both individually and together as communities of the people of God. You taught us how, and what, to pray. And we have prayed these words so often, and so by memory, that we too easily forget the power of the words that we address to You, the requests that we make of You. And so, teach us to pray…
Our Father in heaven,
Lord God Almighty, You are our creator, the giver of life. You created the heavens and the earth
and all that is in them, and each of us in Your image, in order to be the stewards and caretakers of
creation. You made us male and female, to live in relationships with You and with each other.
…hallowed be your name,
Your name is sacred and holy; You are to be respected because You are our Maker, our heavenly
Father. You have given us both life and love, but we have cheapened and degraded both, by taking
the lives of the most vulnerable among us, and by reducing the richness of committed love to
momentary and too often passing encounters.
…your kingdom come,
We have too easily forgotten, Lord Jesus, how subversive is this prayer that You have left us. You
are the King of kings, the God of gods. We need new eyes to see the door that stands open in heaven,
allowing us to see You seated on your throne, surrounded by beings that seem strange to our thinking, but which represent all living creatures, created by Your self-giving love. The kingdoms of this earth, of which we are members and to which we are subservient, are transitory; in Jesus we have been given citizenship in the Kingdom of God, which is here in part but is coming in fullness and power for eternity.
…your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
How we long and pray for Your will to be accomplished here on earth. How we long for the lives
of the unborn, created in Your divine image, to be respected; for the lives of those abandoned and cast away to be adopted into loving families, as we were into the family of God; for the poor to given
subsistence, the naked to be clothed, the homeless to find shelter. Give us heaven’s eyes, dear Father.
We pray for those…who serve You with the gifts You have given them, who speak truth, who
confront our leaders in the halls of legislative power and speak to the crowds through the power of
media. We pray that they would find joy in Your service, comfort from Your love, and courage
from Your example, Lord Jesus.
Give us today our daily bread.
Give us the knowledge, strength and resources to receive what we need to support our families, as
well as the courage to share with those who do not have what we have. Teach us to be giving people,
to use our blessings to bless others.
…and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
Lord, each one of us needs forgiveness; we have found it in You. Help us to learn how to extend
that forgiveness to others in our communities, and to help them to find Your forgiveness, not simply
for our daily faults, but especially for our egregious failures.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.
We are at war, Lord God Almighty. Not simply the clash of ideologies, but the very real spiritual
conflict that extends back in time to Eden. We are being tempted by the evil one to ignore our limits
as created beings serving God the Creator; we are being tempted to be gods ourselves. And as the
tempter said, we would then know both good and evil. We now know them both; we have
succumbed to the evil that was born within us to eat the forbidden fruit. Deliver us, Heavenly Father.
AMEN.
Thanks, Dick. Wonderful application.