Your kingdom come . . .

When I pray, “Your kingdom come,” I am praying for Christ to reign on earth as He already does in Heaven. I did that yesterday, partly because prayer requests from various places overwhelmed me. The messes in the world are like the devastation from a massive earthquake. I look at it and think ‘where do I start praying’ and wonder what it would take to ‘fix this mess.’ I know God is capable, but it seems that it could take the Second Coming to make it happen.

We are living in a culture that says people alive today are responsible for what their ancestors did hundreds of years ago, that it is illegal to criticize evil, and that people who want to change genders are more likely to get government funding than those who are homeless. Value systems and common sense are warping at a speed that invites despair.

The idea of ‘kingdom’ that Jesus told us to pray for is about ruling or reigning. This means we pray asking that the rule of God would be established on earth as it is in heaven. Remember, heaven is a place where:

(God) will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away . . . . But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death . . . . And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life. (Revelation 21:4; 8; 23–27)

No death, no sorrow, no pain, no evil in the kingdom in heaven. Some of God’s people live here with some of that already ruling their heart. Almost everyone longs for such perfection, yet the world is filled with those who say of Jesus, “I will not let that man rule over me.”

His Kingdom is about “righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Romans 14:17), yet the Liar has deceived many to think that having Jesus rule is more about making us do what we don’t want to do — give up running our own lives and being miserable in the process.

God’s people have just a taste of it. We know the righteousness of Jesus Christ and experience His peace and joy. But we also know that His rule is not fully here and we know it must happen before this world experiences the righteousness, peace, and joy that He talks about. We also know the challenges of living under the rule of Someone we cannot see. As our son said this week, being a Christian is not easy. Satan is like a roaring lion who seeks to ruin us. His time is limited and yet he appears clueless to his defeat; he attacks God’s people as if he thinks he will win, not realizing that “in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” (Romans 8:37)

This is the reality: the King is just that — the King. What He says and does signifies His rule. He will do all that He promises to do and even this gigantic mess in our world cannot stop Him. The prophets declared His words:

“ . . . . I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass; I have purposed, and I will do it. (Isaiah 46:11)

“Ah, Lord God! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you.” (Jeremiah 32:17)

“I am the Lord. I have spoken; it shall come to pass; I will do it. I will not go back; I will not spare; I will not relent; according to your ways and your deeds you will be judged, declares the Lord God.” (Ezekiel 24:14)

Jesus, I know that sin and rebellion are now rampant, but when Your Kingdom comes, all that will be done away with. For now, the work of the Kingdom continues. My part it to promote it in prayer and faithful testimony to your grace and power. Someday You will reign in victory and will be glorified forever. In the meantime, I ask again, Thy kingdom come — on earth as it is in heaven.

READ: Matthew 13:1–52. How do these parables describe the Kingdom of Heaven? What was the bottom line at the end of this chapter? How does that affect the way I pray and the way I live?