The Lord’s Prayer: Your Kingdom Come

Many of Jesus’s parables begin with the words, “The kingdom of God is like…” His descriptions are like snapshots of remote Australia or the moon tacked upon a bulletin board. The more you look at them, the more you want to see the entirety of the landscape and experience it for yourself.

When the kingdom of God is fully realized, all pain, suffering, mourning, and tears will evaporate faster than the morning dew. Theologians call this the second Advent. As Israel looked forward to the coming of the Messiah, so Christians long for the coming of the Kingdom of God.

The disciples questioned Jesus often about his parables. They were looking at his snapshots but not understanding the panoramic picture. Jesus told them, “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you” (Mark 4:11 NIV). The disciples still struggled with the meanings of Jesus’s teaching. Jesus was pointing to himself as the fulfillment of the prophecies and the personification of the kingdom of God. Yet the disciples were still searching for—like many of their contemporaries—a political coup d’état.

Jesus did not come to overthrow earthly kingdoms or unseat military dictators. During his trial, Pilate questioned him about his identity and mission. Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now my kingdom is not from here” (John 18:36 NKJV).

In his longest teaching session—often referred to as the Sermon on the Mount—Jesus urged his followers to “Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness” (Matthew 6:33 NASB) but doesn’t promise that they will fully realize it until he comes again.

When the apostle John describes the second advent, his words were still full of mystery and surprise. “And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, ‘Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them’” (Revelation 21:2–3 NLT).

The paradox of proximity exists with the presence of God—he is both infinitely above you and intimately close to you. The same paradox exists with the kingdom of God. It is not of this world and simultaneously within you. This paradox should inspire awe and tenderness.

Fifteenth century Catholic monk Thomas à Kempis challenged himself and his readers to “Turn, then, to God with all your heart. Forsake this wretched world and your soul shall find rest. Learn to despise external things, to devote yourself to those that are within, and you will see the kingdom of God come unto you, that kingdom which is peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, gifts not given to the impious.

“Christ will come to you offering His consolation, if you prepare a fit dwelling for Him in your heart, whose beauty and glory, wherein He takes delight, are all from within. His visits with the inward man are frequent, His communion sweet and full of consolation, His peace great, and His intimacy wonderful indeed.”

The Bible shows us the end of the story—the enemy of your soul is eternally defeated—but there are days when you feel like the war will never end.

Dutch-born seminary professor Anthony Hoekema compares the “now and the not yet” of God’s kingdom to the end of World War II. “Suppose that up in the almost inaccessible north some small village with a Nazi overlord failed to hear the news of the liberation for some weeks. During that time, we might put it, the inhabitants of the village were living in the ‘old’ time of Nazi occupation instead of the ‘new’ time of Norwegian liberation.”

When you pray for God’s kingdom to come, you are praying under occupation for the coming liberation. To put it another way, you are like a citizen of a medieval city; when trouble comes, run across the drawbridge into the safety of the walls and allow the Lord to defend you with the vast resources of his kingdom. When you pray for God’s kingdom to come, you acknowledge his power and victory.

And [Jesus] entered the synagogue and continued speaking out boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading them about the kingdom of God.

Acts 19:8 NASB

For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

Romans 14:17 ESV

For the Kingdom of God is not just a lot of talk; it is living by God’s power.

1 Corinthians 4:20 NLT

Consider the thieves crucified on either side of Jesus. They represent the tension between the kingdom of this world and the kingdom of God. They both mocked him, but one wised up and asked Jesus, “‘Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.’ Jesus said to him, ‘I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise’” (Luke 23:42–43 NCV).

When you pray, “Your kingdom come”, hear Jesus’s response: “You will be with me in paradise.”