…Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. (Matt 6:10 NIV)
THE LORD’S PRAYER – PART 3
Before Christ, the Jews had prayed for hundreds of years “the kingdom of thy Messiah come.” They were believing for a Saviour, who would come in all authority and would reign in the earth bringing political and spiritual freedom.
In this prayer, however, Jesus removes the word ‘Messiah’ indicating that He, the Messiah, had indeed come, but the Kingdom was still on its way. This was not what was expected of the coming Messiah.
Jesus didn’t turn up with the world's strongest army ready to defeat every foe – Greek, Roman and devil alike. He came humbly as a vulnerable baby. He spoke, healed, walked, and told stories… He disrupted the rulers of the age, except it was the religious ones as well as the political. God's Kingdom came with Jesus not as an outward accessory or display of power, but as an internal and eternal force that could be felt and heard on spiritual tides. When His blood was spilt on the day He was crucified, as it flowed down His body and into the earth, His Kingdom of divine peace and glory started to leak out into the world with it. As we accept Jesus into our hearts and start to see His sacrifice and the power of His blood more clearly, we understand that His Kingdom is here within us – just as His blood mixed with dirt that day never to be removed. Yet, there is more if it to come.
Think of it like pouring water from one bucket to another, from heaven to earth, from Saviour into repentant hearts. God’s Kingdom fills the earth through you and I. It interacts with humanity and gets into every nook and cranny as we carry it with our words, actions and prayers.
When we pray ‘Your Kingdom Come’ we’re asking God to fill us with more of His love and purpose and to send us out as ambassadors and citizens of His kingdom. The Kingdom is here, but it is also still on its way – there are many empty hearts who don’t yet know they are waiting for it. Keep on praying and believing for lives to be changed and set free by Jesus… Where will you take His Kingdom today?