What does it mean to pray "THY KINGDOM COME?”
It’s a powerful thing to pray Thy Kingdom Come, or as we would say in modern English, Your Kingdom Come.
To pray Thy Kingdom Come means to invite God’s will into the world and to be open to what God wants for your life. It is also looking forward to Jesus’ Second Coming to fully establish God’s reign. It’s a prayer that summarizes the entire Bible and what God wants to do on the earth.
Your Kingdom Come Means to Invite God’s Reign
The Kingdom of God is God’s rule and reign. God is the King. When the Bible uses the phrase King of kings and Lord of lords, it mean Thy Kingdom Come – What it means is that God’s throne is the highest. There are many presidents, prime ministers, and rulers on earth, but God’s rule and reign are above them all.
Thy Kingdom Come illustrates the truth that people need to invite God’s rule and power into the affairs of their lives through prayer. It’s not thinking, “Oh, God will do it if He wants to.…” It’s an active seeking. This is our responsibility and our great privilege.
Thy Kingdom Come Means to Look Expectantly to Jesus’ Return
At Jesus’ Second Coming, He will fully establish God’s Kingdom on the earth by removing all evil, wickedness, and lawlessness from the earth. God’s will and purpose for earth will be fully realized. His plan will be fully realized.
To pray Your Kingdom Come Your Will Be Done is to look forward to the day when God’s will is fully done on the earth. God’s will be done here on earth just as it is in Heaven. This happens at Jesus’ Second Coming. Heaven and Earth will be united. And God Himself will dwell with mankind as that was His original design in the beginning.
We live in a world that is experiencing brokenness caused by sin. People look for meaning in a successful career, a happy family, a secure future. These things cannot ultimately be satisfying without God.
Let’s pray together with believers throughout history: “Your Kingdom Come.”
Thy Kingdom Come is not just an expectant yearning for the coming of Christ in the future, even though this longing is contained in the plea. Thy Kingdom Come also expresses the prayerful desire of Christ’s servants to see God’s Kingdom broaden and become increasingly established throughout the world in the here and now.
Praying, “Thy Kingdom Come,” means asking the heavenly Father to help us, in our own lives, to be faithful, obedient, authentic, and effective Christians.
As believers in Jesus, we acknowledge God as our King. Praying, “Thy Kingdom Come,” means we desire for His sovereign rule over our lives here on earth, as we submit to His authority and yield to His control in every aspect of our existence so that God’s sovereign rule will come now and in the future in its fullness and permanence.
God has promised a kingdom, where He is Himself a sovereign king, in His incarnation and in His saving work—His death, burial, and resurrection—Jesus has inaugurated a kingdom, a kingdom that is not yet fully consummated.
“The Lord’s Prayer” is familiar to many, but how many who repeat it understand what they are actually praying? The prayer may be found in two different New Testament passages. Both accounts need to be compared if we seek a proper understanding of it.
THREE IMPORTANT WORDS
While the entire prayer outline is important, this focuses on three words. How many understand what they are praying when they utter the words, “Thy Kingdom Come” (Matthew 6:10; Luke 11:2, King James Version)? What is this kingdom, and when does it come? Some think the kingdom is set up in their hearts. Others think it is the church. Still, others think it is heaven. Which is true? According to the Bible, all of these! God’s Kingdom is anywhere that his full will is being carried out.
Jesus’ message from the very beginning was centrally focused on the Kingdom of God (Mark 1:14–15).
THE TRUE HOPE FOR FOLLOWERS OF CHRIST
The coming of that kingdom does not depend on whether we believe it or not, but there is very good news for those who do believe. Jesus is calling individuals who do not go with the flow of this world, who step out of their comfort zones, and, in faith, do the Work of God. God’s rule on the earth is what every true believer ought to strive for, as Jesus instructed: “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you” (Matthew 6:33). Everyone who puts that goal first in his mind and heart will pray every day—in whatever words he is moved to use—for the very same thing Jesus said we should pray for: “Thy Kingdom Come”!
References:
https://pursuitbible.com/thy-kingdom-come/
https://www.gotquestions.org/thy-kingdom-come.html
https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/erik-raymond/mean-pray-thy-kingdom-come/
https://www.ligonier.org/blog/what-does-it-mean-pray-thy-kingdom-come/
https://www.tomorrowsworld.org/magazines/2020/january-february/what-does-thy-kingdom-come-mean