“your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” (NIV)

“may your Kingdom come; may your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” (Good News)

Liz Nixon writes:

What does the Kingdom of God look like? That’s a question I’ve been thinking about recently, having received a couple of Dallas Willard books for my birthday. I think we need to know what it looks like in order to really mean “Your Kingdom come” when we pray. And I think it looks very much like each of the next days’ titles – the Kingdom of God coming is Him providing for my needs, the forgiveness of sins, receiving His guidance through the leading of His Holy Spirit, and His protection.

The kingdom is all these things, but there’s even more to it! The Kingdom is righteousness, joy, and peace; it is no more tears; it’s about reconciliation; it is death no longer having the last word; it is life to the full - an abundant, thriving life. Doesn’t that sound wonderful? Don’t you want that kind of Kingdom to come in your life? In our city? In our nation?

Dallas Willard says that the right vision of the kingdom isn’t just about being “theologically accurate”. Having a correct, Jesus centred view of the kingdom “will awaken tremendous desire”. And that’s because the kingdom is just soooooo good! It’s your most imaginative, creative, joy-filled hopes multiplied by several billion!

When I pray “Your Kingdom come” from now on, I will have an expanded, better understanding of what His Kingdom coming means – desire has been awoken in me and I want it to come now! Your Kingdom come Father!

“your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” (NIV)

“may your Kingdom come; may your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” (Good News)

This week’s thoughts are from the Watts family - parents Jen and Rick with children Abbie and Nathan.

Rick and Nathan say:

When I asked Nathan what came into his mind when we said ‘kingdom’, he proceeded to list all the board and video games we have with ‘kingdom’ in the title. (To be honest I had similar thoughts, I wonder where he gets it from…)

We discussed how ‘kingdom building’ in these games is about looking to build the best kingdom for yourself, and often this means taking territory and resources away from other players. However, God’s kingdom is for everyone’s benefit.

Abbie says:

We want heaven to come down to earth so everyone on earth gets to experience heaven.

Jen says:

This line reminds us that just because God has the power to change any situation, he won’t necessarily act. As children, we can ask him for good things, but any good parent knows that sometimes what their children want is not what’s best for them, even if the child is too young to understand why.

When my kids ask for snacks, my answer will change from day to day, even though they’re asking for the same thing. I might gladly offer a snack at 4pm when dinner will not be until 6pm but will deny them snacks when dinner is in only half an hour’s time.

The last part of this reminds us that there is a greater hope to come. As we pray, we can call heaven down onto earth and make earth more like heaven. One day, we won’t have to do this, because we will already be in heaven.

“your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” (NIV)

“may your Kingdom come; may your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” (Good News)

Lizzie Jackson writes:

I always have a very clear image in my head when I say ‘God’s kingdom’. I picture God on his throne and people of all races and cultures gathered around, worshipping him together. But it occurred to me that what we mean by ‘God’s Kingdom’ varies a lot between people. When we pray this line, what are each of us actually praying for? I decided to ask some friends what they picture when they think about God’s Kingdom:

The first two friends pictured the new creation. One sees Earth but the same way she imagines Eden. Everything that much brighter. “Like suddenly turning the brightness up on your phone and you can see everything so much clearer”. The other pictured nature completely new, restored and people in permanent communion with God.

This is a beautiful perspective. But from this perspective I sometimes struggle to pray for the Kingdom to come because I have a non-Christian family and I wonder what that looks like for them. It takes a lot of trust to pray that line.

The third friend had a different perspective. She said she didn’t really picture anything, just thought of the phrase:“The Kingdom is God’s will accomplished”

With her perspective, there is an element of eternity to this prayer but also a message for now. We can bring God’s kingdom closer the more we act according to his will and allow it to prevail. ‘Your kingdom come’ means God’s will shall be done and Earth is made a little more like heaven.

“your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” (NIV)

“may your Kingdom come; may your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” (Good News)

Dan Green writes:

Our discussion about this part of the Lord’s prayer centred on what God’s kingdom is, and on what it would look like for that kingdom to fully come to earth.

As a family we have lived in two kingdoms during our time… the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan! Both kingdoms have their monarchs, but the nature of their rule and their power looks very, very different. While Queen Elizabeth’s rule is largely symbolic, limited by the particular quirks of British history and by the will of the people (cue rolled eyes from the family as I even mention Magna Carta!), King Abdullah of Jordan enjoys more or less total control and what he wants to happen is pretty much what happens!

Following a brief discussion on which of these kingdoms God’s kingdom was most like, we managed to agree that we all think God’s kingdom is a place where everything that is good and beautiful in life exists, and where people are fully loved, fully healed, and fully at peace. By inviting us to pray for this kingdom to come to earth (and by declaring elsewhere that it was, in fact, near and available), Jesus was making it clear that the good things of God’s kingdom can be part of our lives today.

The other side to this coin is that God’s kingdom coming to earth also means an end to all suffering. This is very good news indeed, as we’ve been following Slave Free Lent with IJM (International Justice Mission) this month, and learning lots about modern day slavery and the ways that the products we buy have a real impact on the conditions people work in and live in around the world. So as we pray for God’s kingdom to come today, we invite you to join us in praying that every person who is caught up in slavery would be set free, and to pray for any other area of social justice that you care about.

“your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” (NIV)

“may your Kingdom come; may your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” (Good News)

“Set the world right; Do what’s best - as above, so below.” (The Message)

Laura Kerr writes:

The mere mention of God’s Kingdom got us talking about the areas of injustice and brokenness that we see in the world. We were immediately reminded of the places where the Kingdom is ’not yet’ visible. But it is the ’not yet’ phrase that we felt was important.

The fact that we know that the Kingdom of God is coming is an acknowledgement that there is a better future ahead. All too often I place my hopes in things that are fleeting and that rely on my own strength. However through Jesus, we know that there is an enduring hope.

Joanna liked how The Message translation phrases this part of the Lord’s Prayer as “Set the world right.” This is a cry out to God to see the world changed and made right by Him. By Him! Andrew noted that the wording is not ‘give us the strength to bring your kingdom’ but instead we are calling God to bring it. It is a reminder that by praying this we are bringing ourselves in alignment with His will.

It was this aspect of the prayer that particularly struck me, as it reminded me of Jesus’ prayer in Gethsemane: “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nethertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” Isn’t it comforting that Jesus uses prayer to align His will to the Father's? It’s so countercultural. Instead of taking what we want and doing what we want, we are declaring God’s will be done.

We can be so perpetually short sighted! Often we only comprehend our own situations and desires. But by praying this prayer daily, we are rebelling against that and instead looking at the bigger picture with the hope we have through Christ. I want that revolution to happen in my own heart. I will continue reminding myself of my hope in Him and place His will before my own. I will deliberately look for the places where I can already see God’s Kingdom at work.

“your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” (NIV)

“may your Kingdom come; may your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” (Good News)

Bern Leckie writes:

So, how to explain the kingdom of God to a 6-year-old? (Or a grown-up Christian who, like me, associated “kingdom come” with the end of the world and thought maybe we were praying for this to come quickly?)

We started off talking about kingdoms, rulers and rules, but Noah hasn’t been thinking about Brexit as much as Helen and I have. So we discussed where these things play a big part in a child’s life – at school. Noah could quickly name the Queen and King of his school as the head teacher and her deputy. They have important jobs and make rules! But why? Is it to please themselves or feel important? No, they are trying to make a good school, where people can enjoy learning and get on well with each other. In a good kingdom with good rules, people know how to respect each other’s value and live their very best.

This is sounding very grown up and getting somewhere, we thought. So, if you ruled the school, what would you make happen? After some thought, Noah gave us the smile of a boy who knows he has the perfect answer. “People could get second helpings of pudding!”

And that made us think about how wide ranging the whole business of kingdoms and rules really is. If I could, I’d make a rule that chocolate was good for you. But even if I got to be king of the world one day, I still wouldn’t be the ruler of physics.

As we thought and prayed about God’s kingdom, we considered his power and how he chooses to focus it. We can see in Jesus the promise of an end to suffering, hunger, sickness and death. We want to live in a world like that. Some of this looks like justice we can hope, pray and work for in our lifetime.

So we want to be part of God’s kingdom coming on Earth and get better at knowing and doing God’s will, in faith that we will see this increasingly present around us.

This means we want God to grow our sensitivity and obedience where he can use us, perhaps to right a wrong, make someone safe, comfort or feed them. And not in a patronising, religiously dutiful or holier-than-thou kind of way, but with the generosity, love and joy we expect to receive from God as his kingdom comes, the sort where it’s obvious to everyone that there will be second helpings of pudding.