A Journey From Worry to Confident Hope: Praying Through the Lord’s PrayerНамуна

Day Three: May Your Kingdom Come

The Lord’s prayer is a prayer that we might be part of Jesus’ Kingdom-victory movement. As we pray, ‘May your Kingdom come’, we remember that the ultimate victory was won at the cross. Indeed, this is why Jesus’ resurrection happened! The power of death was defeated and could not hold him in the grave. Yet, we continue to pray for kingdom-moments on earth now, as in heaven, wherever sin and death are trying to choke the life out of us, out of those we love, or out of people in God’s world.

Though Jesus is King of the whole world, his authority is regularly challenged by other forces, such as the human will, and by darker forces to which people offer their attention and adoration. These forces can be economic, social, cultural, or a variety of other ‘things that are not God’, which are best described as ‘the idols’. 

When we pray for God’s Kingdom to come, we are praying that the forces, the idols, will be driven back by the power and the victory of God’s love. We are praying that the new creation—the age to come—might powerfully rush in so that we experience the victory of ‘kingdom of heaven moments’ in our contemporary context. 

Every time we pray this prayer, we are invoking God’s new age. We are affirming that we believe we are already called to be part of God’s whole new world: his Kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. The prayer for ‘God’s Kingdom to come’ expresses trust that God will fully and finally defeat the idols and put all things right at last. It is a hopeful prayer for the success of Jesus’ own Kingdom ministry.

In practice, it can be helpful to have a specific reference point as we pray ‘thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as in heaven’. For example, we might pray for politicians, leaders, or world rulers who are susceptible to the abuse of power. Alternatively, we might lift up the needy and the poor, or hospitals and schools and the vast needs in the areas of healing and education. Our keen and prayerful attention can be focused on the marginalized, or those with special needs. As we pray, we come before our Father, asking for his Kingdom to come in all these places through the work of the Spirit in his church at work in the world. 

Question to consider:

The Lord’s Prayer is a prayer for victory to be won over forces that oppose God’s rule and his will. In what ways has power and kingship been redefined around Jesus?

Living it out: 

Identify a specific area where brokenness is evident and pray for God’s Kingdom to impact this area today.