Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. (ESV)
Matthew 6:10
In In this passage, Jesus is continuing to set before us his model prayer so that we may not be like the hypocrites he previously mentioned. Jesus began his prayer with a call for us to recognize and acknowledge that God is our Father and that he is ruling and reigning in heaven. Our pray thus begins with the declaration that God’s name should be hallowed. Next, Jesus gives us two points of focus in hallowing God’s name: his kingdom to come and his will to be done. Just as it does in heaven. We are not asking and pleading for God to do something that is impossible or something that is contrary to nature. No, we are simply stating the fact that as the name of God is hallowed in this world, then his kingdom will come and his will shall be done, both in heaven and on earth. passage, Jesus is continuing to set before us his model prayer so that we may not be like the hypocrites he previously mentioned. Jesus began his prayer with a call for us to recognize and acknowledge that God is our Father and that he is ruling and reigning in heaven. Our pray thus begins with the declaration that God’s name should be hallowed. Next, Jesus gives us two points of focus in hallowing God’s name: his kingdom to come and his will to be done. Just as it does in heaven. We are not asking and pleading for God to do something that is impossible or something that is contrary to nature. No, we are simply stating the fact that as the name of God is hallowed in this world, then his kingdom will come and his will shall be done, both in heaven and on earth.
I always seem to wonder about this portion of the Lord’s prayer. I wonder why Jesus is asking us to pray for something that is sure to happen. I wonder why we are called to pray for the kingdom to come as it is a necessity and surety that his kingdom will most definitely come. I wonder why we are asked to pray that God’s will be done when the sovereign God of all things will only ever accomplish his will. I wonder at the seriousness with which Jesus is impressing these ideas before me as I read and think and pray. Do I really need to pray these things since the Lord has accomplished these things in heaven already and surely the earth is in process?
The Father wants me involved in the work of his kingdom. He wants me involved in the coming kingdom. Jesus is reminding me that these are the most important things. These are the priorities that should orient my every day. God’s coming kingdom and his sovereign will are two beacons that inform my every day. If I have a good and right understanding of these two things, then everything else will fall into place.
It’s when I lose sight of the importance of God’s coming kingdom and God’s holy will that I begin to be anxious and filled with doubt. It is then that I cease to hold onto the truth of God’s purposes and fill my mind with self-righteousness. I move into a state of wanting my kingdom and my will to be done. Sin grabs hold of my heart and darkens my thoughts away from the truth of this prayer. I begin to work at serving God. I begin to work at bringing about God’s kingdom. I begin to work at bringing about God’s will for my life and this world. I lose sight of the most important part of this verse, that it is to be done on earth as it is in heaven.
This prayer is like a compass for my heart and mind. It reorients me to the good and proper place of obedience and faith. When my heart longs for the kingdom of God to come and when my soul longs to see the will of God done, then I will be in the perfect place of humility before the Father. When I remember my place in this equation and use the tools and the means God has given for me to participate. This prayer reminds me that my Father is in heaven where he reigns. The coming kingdom and his will are already being accomplished and fulfilled in heaven and they will also be accomplished in this world.
Lord, give me a heart of humble, faithful patience marked by obedience. I get distracted by so many things. I worry and become anxious, so I reach for ways to take control, forgetting that you are already in full command of all things. That everything is from you and through you and to you. Align my heart to beat in rhythm with yours. Teach me to love the things you love and to hate the things you hate. Give me a vision for your name being hallowed and call me to a daily discipline of asking you to bring your kingdom and accomplish your will. May I never tire of asking these things of you. May my heart be flush with thoughts of you alone.