Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.

Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread,

and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”

What does it mean to Pray for the Kingdom of God to Come?

In the second sentence of the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus starts of by praying for two things. He prays for the kingdom of God to come and for the will of God to be done. In order for us to understand clearly what He is praying about, we must first understand what these terms mean. I will give you a basic understanding of these terms but if you want to start doing in depth bible studies I suggest you either learn how to use Bible Gateway which I have provided a link at the bottom of the page, or that you click on my Christian Resources page and buy a computer Bible program at Amazon.

The Meaning of the Kingdom of God.

Some believe that it is synonymous with the church. That the church is the kingdom of God. We are citizens of the kingdom but not the kingdom. Some believe it means heaven. The kingdom of God exists there, but it is not the kingdom of God. Simply put the kingdom of Heaven or God means the wherever the rule and reign of Jesus exists. So when you are praying for the kingdom of God to come, you are praying that the rule and reign of Jesus would become manifest in a certain area of your life or the lives of others. You see Jesus rules and reigns in people, not countries or situations. It is when the people in those countries or in those situations submit to the rule and reign of Jesus that then the kingdom of God becomes manifested in those things. So the first thing you do is pray for the rule and reign of Jesus in your own life. If you are battling a spiritual battle, pray for His rule and reign. If you are dealing with an emotional struggle, pray for His rule and reign, or even a physical problem, again pray for His rule and reign. Think about it? Find me one person who was physically ill who came to Jesus and asked to be healed, that didn’t get healed. I am convinced that the reason a lot of people do not get healed is because they are not asking for the rule and reign of Jesus to be manifested. They want the privilege of kingdom living without the responsibility of kingdom living.

The Will of God in the Kingdom of Heaven

He includes in this part of the prayer, the need to pray for His will to be done. Now you would think that a sovereign and all powerful God could impose His will upon us. And in theory He could, but He has chosen not too. He has instead chosen to partner with us to make it a joint venture. He will only comes as we submit to that will. This is a part that many Christians miss. They again want the privileges of living in the kingdom but do not want to surrender and truly make the King of that kingdom Lord.

Now notice what Jesus puts as the example of what both the kingdom coming and the will of God being done is. He said that we are to pray that it would come just like it looks like in heaven! Ask yourself this question. What does His kingdom look like in heaven? Is their any pain? Any sorrow? Any anger or strife? Are families broken? I could go on and on about the differences between how the kingdom of God in heaven looks like there, compared to our reality here. The same goes for the will of God. If you want to know if you are praying according to the will of God, just think about what it is you are praying about, and ask yourself if it is like that in heaven. When I pray for the sick, I do not just pray that they get well, I pray that they would have the kingdom and will of God manifested in their life just as if they were already in heaven. There is no sickness in heaven, no loneliness, no depression, no sorrow. It there financial distress in heaven? Now it does not say we will all be fat cats, but definitely all our needs will be met.

Praying for the Kingdom of God to be manifested in your life.

So this morning, when you pray, try praying this way. Pray that the rule and reign of Jesus would be manifested over you, your family, the people in your church and community and that His will would be done, that we would start to see a little of heaven on earth!

Now that is something to think about!

Related Articles

• The Lord’s Prayer – More than Just words
• The Lord’s Prayer – Praying for the Kingdom of God to come
• The Lord’s Prayer -Praying for Provision
• The Lord’s Prayer – The Importance of Forgiveness
• The Lord’s Prayer – The Need for Guidance
• The Lord’s Prayer – Have Faith in Your Father

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