In Mathew 6:9-13 Jesus taught his disciples to pray. The prayer taught by Jesus is considered by the world as the best prayer even today.
We, as Christians, would have been taught this prayer by our parents when we were a little child and so we are able to recite it even in our sleep.
But have you noticed that each word and sentence in the Lord’s prayer has a deeper meaning for life. ?
The beginning of the prayer starts with addressing God as ‘Our Father”. This is the first time that someone teaches to address God as our Father. John 1 :12 says “ To all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become Children of God”. Since we are given the power to be the children of God, we can rightfully call God as Our father. It is to this Father, we address our prayers as a son or daughter.
Thy Kingdom Come:
Let us analyse the term “Thy Kingdom Come, ...” (Mathew 6: 10 ) When I have been taught that if we live good lives here on earth we would be taken to Heaven, the abode of God where there is no death. If that be so, why should I pray for the Lord’s Kingdom to come?. Secondly where should it come ?
To understand that we must first understand what is Heaven, hell , this world and the Kingdom of God.
Psalms 103:19 says “The Lord has made the heavens his throne, from there he rules over everything”.
In Luke 17: 20-21 - The Pharisees demanded of Jesus when the kingdom of God should come. For which he replied “The kingdom of God can’t be detected by visible signs. You won’t be able to say ‘here it is ‘ or ‘there it is’, for the Kingdom of God is within you.
The Kingdom of God is not a physical kingdom first … The king of this Kingdom won victory on the cross. Some of the great subjects of this kingdom have been killed for their faith in this King.
The Kingdom of God begins from our heart, moving out into space and time, to everything under creation of God. It must start growing from our heart . It comes from inside out. It begins with believing and receiving Jesus Christ as stated in John 1:12.
A person who prays ‘Thy Kingdom Come’, is surrendering his will to the reign of God in his life. A human being is given a free will – to either choose good or bad…this will is surrendered to God, so that Jesus calls for the shots in our life..
In Mathew 6:33 Jesus says : “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things shall be added to you”.
How do you seek …for which again Jesus says in Luke 18:17 – I tell you the truth, anyone who does not receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.
To understand this..we must understand how our little children, behave…they always let us parents take decisions for them…and they seek our help to do each thing in their life. This is how we need to be with God…We must pray to know His will and act accordingly. We never decide things according to our intelligence.
Then how does this Kingdom grow within ourselves.? To understand this we must go to Mathew 7: 7-11 in which Jesus teaches us “Ask and it shall be given to you, seek and you shall find it, Knock and the door shall be opened to you……………” These are not earthly things that we ask for. We ask God for the gifts of the Holy Spirit, which God promises that He shall give in plenty as a father. Hence with the gifts of the Holy Spirit, we seek Jesus and we are sure to find Him which will enable us to get the door of Heaven opened for us.
Jesus comes into our heart by the gifts of the Holy Spirit which are 7- Wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety and fear of the Lord.(Isaiah) . With these gifts we can attain the fruits of the holy spirit which are Love, Joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
Now We may also refer to Mathew 16:28 – “There shall be some standing here , which shall not taste death , till they see the Son of man coming in his Kingdom”. This does not mean the final coming of Christ…this means the showering of Holy Spirit on the Pentecost day. Jesus shall enter your hearts as Holy Spirit and then He shall reign therein. Won’t it be a wonderful experience of having Jesus reigning in your heart.
So when the kingdom of God starts growing from our heart, it slowly comes out through our character, our behavior…this slowly grows in our family…to our society we live in…and into our community thus growing ..into the entire world….the entire creation.. This is what is explained in the parable of the mustard seed and leavened bread. (Mathew 13-31-33).
Prophesy in the Bible about the Kingdom of God.
Luke 1:33 – Angel Gabriel addressing Mary …..He will be great, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.
Isaiah 9:6-7 For a child has been born to us, a son given to us , authority rests upon his shoulders , and his is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. His authority shall grow continually, and there shall be endless peace for the throne of David and his Kingdom. He will establish and uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time onward and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.
The Kingdom of God will grow from inside out…but it will be consummated only at the second coming of Christ.
While answering to question of the the High Priest whether He is the Messiah , the son of the blessed one, Jesus says in Mark 14:62- I am and you will see the son of man seated at the right hand of the power and coming with the clouds of the heaven.
Daniel 7 :13-14 – As I watched in the night visions, I saw one like a human being coming with the clouds of heaven. And he came to the Ancient one and was presented before Him. To him was given dominion and glory and kingship that all people, nations, and languages should serve him. His dominion isan everlasting dominion that shall not pass away, and his kingship is one that shall never be destroyed.
Hence we must await the consummation of the Kingdom of God for which we have to live as per His will – by doing good and be transformed as Christ-like with the help from the Holy Spirit.
So what does the Bible say about those who await the coming of Christ.
See Romans 8: 18-30 and I Cor 15: 24
Therefore it is this Kingdom that we pray shall come. It exists now and forever. Only God’s children would get the privilege to be called so and be in His Kingdom.
In Ezekiel 26;26 God promises “I will give you a new heart and I will put a new spirit in you.”.
This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone:, a new life has begun. – 2 Cor 5:17.
We must be ready and prepared for the coming of Christ ..like the 5 wise virgins in Mathew 25: 1-13. The ‘oil’ in the parable means ‘prayers’. So let us be prepared and ready for the Lord with prayers in our lips.
Hence with all our weaknesses and failures, let us strive earnestly to become the children of God seeking the help of the Holy Spirit for a new heart and a new spirit, to be called into the Kingdom of God.
May God bless us all and our WLM community.
by
Adv.Jinu Joseph
Primoris Law
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