Praying to God: Our Father, Your Kingdom come

"Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." Matthew 6:10 (ESV)

 

May 'Your kingdom come', not just to overshadow this sin ridden world, but to completely replace it. We should be seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness before expecting our own wants and desires. (Matthew 6:33) Jesus spoke of God's kingdom over one hundred times and almost every parable He spoke was about that kingdom. To pray for that kingdom to come is to desire for that kingdom to come. To understand and know that our world is fallen and our hopes, our desires, even our passions are tied up in God and His kingdom. It brings our focus away from ourselves and brings it to His kingdom. Our goal should be for His kingdom to come in our lives, to be witnesses, ambassadors of this kingdom to the outside world. Whatever we do should be done with the thought, "Is this appropriate for God's kingdom?" If we are truly desiring God's kingdom to come, then we will be preparing for its arrival. So to pray, 'Your kingdom come', is also a call to action and a preparation for the next part of this prayer.

 

'Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.' The first prepares us for the second. If we are seeking God's kingdom, then we will most assuredly be seeking His will. Just like Jesus in the wilderness, in His humanity, seeking for what was to come to pass from Him, but nevertheless, He said, "not as I will, but as you will.” Matthew 26:39 (ESV) What a glorious example of this method of prayer in action! At the moment of His greatest trial, He sought only after His Father's will! This too, should be our response in adversity. It's easy to seek for the kingdom of God and His will in good times. But every step should be taken only after we've sought for God's kingdom and His will.

 

As we have seen, the first to this method of prayer is all about God.

1. Our Father in heaven - We come as children with full assurance of His love.


2. Hallowed be Your name - With praise and awe we bow before Him.


3. Your kingdom come - Seeking His kingdom in replace of our own.


4. Your will be done - Desiring His will and not our own.

 

That is the way all prayer is to begin. God first, me second.

Repent and believe before it's too late