The Model Prayer:
You Kingdom Come
The “Lord’s Prayer” is found in John 17; Matthew
6:9-13 is properly called “The Model Prayer” because it teaches us how to pray.
Jesus did not say, “Pray in these words,” but “Pray after this
manner.” Use it as a pattern for sincere prayers.
Jesus instructs us on how to use God's name in
prayer, to pray for His kingdom and His will be done in our lives.
If we learn to pray in this manner we will live this way daily.
Our prayers should always honor God's holy name and
character. They should always be in submission to His will. Our one
supreme passion should be to bring honor and glory to His name.
If we are seeking God's kingdom first then God will
answer our prayers according to His will. Blessings will always be ours
as we see God accomplishing His will in our lives.
“Your kingdom come” (v. 10a). The desire of the Christian
is to live in the perfect will of God. The kingdom of God is the most important concept in
the Gospel of Matthew. The kingdom is the rule of God in the universe and is a present
reality in the believer’s heart, but it is the future kingdom that is in mind in this
passage. The kingdom of God which is unseen is the rule of God in the hearts of believers
in the present age. The visible and glorious kingdom which every person will see is at the
Second Coming of Christ.
The petition is for God to exercise His kingship
until the world is
filled with His glory. God will establish His sovereignty on the earth.
The kingdom will come in full realization by means
of its own inherent power. God will perfectly accomplish His will on
this earth as it is in heaven.
The kingdom comes with the Messiah who comes to establish it (Matt.
25:34). At the Second Coming Jesus Christ will be the supreme, sovereign ruler over the
entire earth (Ps. 2:6-9; Dan. 7:14; 2:44; 4:34; 7:27; Ps. 72:9-11; Micah 4:1-2; Zech.
9:10). He will sit upon the throne of David (2 Sam. 7:16; Ps. 89:20-37; Isa. 11; Jer.
33:19-21). Christ was born as a King (Lk. 1:32-33), was rejected as King (Mk. 15:12-13;
Lk. 19:14), was crucified as the King of the Jews (Matt. 27:37) and will return as
“King of Kings, and Lord of Lords” (Rev. 19:16). He will rule with absolute
authority, power and righteousness (Ps. 2:9; Rev. 19:15; Isa. 11:4). Examine these verses
for more details about His kingdom in glory (Isa. 2:1-4; 9:6-7; 11:1-10; 16:5; 24:23;
32:1; 40:1-11; 42:1-4; 52:7-15; 55:4; Dan. 2:44; 7:27).
The first three petitions in this prayer are “prayers that God
may act in such a way that His people will hallow His name, submit to His reign, and do
His will.”
“Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (v. 10b).
Only the transforming grace of God can bring a person to change the
desires of his heart from “my kingdom come,” to “Your kingdom come.”
The Lord Jesus Christ lives in every true believer.
"Christ is our life" (Col. 3:4; Gal. 2:20; Rom. 8:9-10; Eph. 3:17; Col.
1:27-29, etc.).
God’s revealed will is being perfectly observed in heaven.
What assurance this is for us when we enter into the presence of God
when we die or when Christ returns and we will be transformed and be
like Him. In that moment we will be freed from any taint of sin because
"when He appears, we shall be like Him, because we shall see him just as
He is. And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself,
just as He is pure" (1 John 3:2-3).
Because of what Christ has done for us the desire
of every believer is that the Father's will be immediately and whole
heartedly done in our lives here on the earth in this life.
There is nothing in heaven to hinder God's perfect
will being done right now. Jesus tells us to pray for the same thing to
be done in obedience on the earth today. What changes would take place
in our daily lives, our contemporary society and the world affairs if
this took place.
The prayer of every sincere believer is that God will rule
increasingly in our lives, and that His final messianic kingdom will come soon, even
today. Our responsibility is to make ourselves available to Him at all times to rule in
and over our lives so as to bring honor and glory to Him alone. Are you making yourself
available to Him in growing obedience to all that He has revealed in His Scriptures?
“Lord, Your will be done in my life daily, moment by moment. I
give this day to you. You be my Lord and Master. Here is my life. You live in and through
me.”
Selah!
Message by Wil Pounds (c) 2006
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