Thy Kingdom Come, Thy Will Be Done

How many of us know the prayer taught by Lord Jesus Christ.  I know that every Christian who has gone to Children’s Bible School or catechism in school or any Christian who has read the New Testament would have come across this prayer.  It is a very common prayer that is  most often said like chanting a mantra.  The prayer goes like this in Matthew 6:9 & 10

“Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy name.

Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.”

In this post, we are focusing on what Jesus meant by praying “Thy Kingdom Come and Thy Will be done here on earth as it is in heaven.”

What is the Kingdom of the Father like and What is His Will like in GENERAL.  I am not probing into the specific Will of the Father God, who is in Heaven, but His GENERAL WILL and HIS KINGDOM which He has in Heaven.  We will glean through some of the verses to understand what His Kingdom is like and How He rules and reigns.

Psalmist David himself is a king and in most of his psalms he would address God as the King.  He had the right perspective about God and always kept Him as the King of kings.  Through his psalms David describes the character of the GREAT King of Heaven and Earth and His Kingdom attributes. 

 God has set His throne in heaven; He rules over us all. He’s the King! Ps 103:19

His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom and Your dominion endures throughout all generations.  Psalm 145:13

For God is the King of all the earth; sing to him a psalm of praise. Psalm 47:7

God reigns over the nations; God is seated on His holy throne. Psalm 47:8

Our King loves righteousness, uprightness, and right standing with God and hates wickedness; Psalm 45:7

David calls God as the Lord.  Lord means the one who lords over or who has the dominion or authority over something or someone.  It also implies the kingship.  Wherever David calls the Lord he acknowledges that He is the ruling One.

The below verses point out the characteristics of our King and Lord.

Psalm 145: 14 - 19

The Lord upholds all those [of His own] who are falling and raises up all those who are bowed down.

The eyes of all wait for You [looking, watching, and expecting] and You give them their food in due season.

You open Your hand and satisfy every living thing with favor.

The Lord is [rigidly] righteous in all His ways and gracious and merciful in all His works.

The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him sincerely and in truth.

He will fulfill the desires of those who reverently and worshipfully fear Him; He also will hear their cry and will save them.

Psalm 103: 3-9 (MSG)

The Lord forgives your sins—every one.
He heals your diseases—every one.
He redeems you from hell—saves your life!
He crowns you with love and mercy—a paradise crown.
He wraps you in goodness—beauty eternal.
He renews your youth—you’re always young in His presence.
The Lord makes everything come out right; He puts victims back on their feet.

The Reign of Our King Jesus Christ will be filled with justice, righteousness, without oppression, tyranny or evil.  No one will harm another.

 

 Psalm 103 (AMP)

⁶ The Lord executes righteousness and justice [not for me only, but] for all who are oppressed.

⁷ He made known His ways [of righteousness and justice] to Moses, His acts to the children of Israel.

⁸ The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and plenteous in mercy and loving-kindness.

⁹ He will not always chide or be contending, neither will He keep His anger forever or hold a grudge.

¹⁰ He has not dealt with us after our sins nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.

¹¹ For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great are His mercy and loving-kindness toward those who reverently and worshipfully fear Him.

¹² As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.

¹³ As a father loves and pities his children, so the Lord loves and pities those who fear Him [with reverence, worship, and awe].

¹⁴ For He knows our frame, He [earnestly] remembers and imprints [on His heart] that we are dust.

¹⁵ As for man, his days are as grass; as a flower of the field, so he flourishes.

¹⁶ For the wind passes over it and it is gone, and its place shall know it no more.

¹⁷ But the mercy and loving-kindness of the Lord are from everlasting to everlasting upon those who reverently and worshipfully fear Him, and His righteousness is to children’s children—

¹⁸ To such as keep His covenant [hearing, receiving, loving, and obeying it] and to those who [earnestly] remember His commandments to do them [imprinting them on their hearts].

¹⁹ The Lord has established His throne in the heavens, and His kingdom rules over all.

Isaiah 11

2 And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him—the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the reverential and obedient fear of the Lord—

3 And shall make Him of quick understanding, and His delight shall be in the reverential and obedient fear of the Lord. And He shall not judge by the sight of His eyes, neither decide by the hearing of His ears;

4 But with righteousness and justice shall He judge the poor and decide with fairness for the meek, the poor, and the downtrodden of the earth; and He shall smite the earth and the oppressor with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked.

5 And righteousness shall be the girdle of His waist and faithfulness the girdle of His loins.

6 And the wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid, and the calf and the young lion and the fatted domestic animal together; and a little child shall lead them.

7 And the cow and the bear shall feed side by side, their young shall lie down together, and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.

8 And the sucking child shall play over the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder’s den.

9 They shall not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain, for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.

10 And it shall be in that day that the Root of Jesse shall stand as a signal for the peoples; of Him shall the nations inquire and seek knowledge, and His dwelling shall be glory [His rest glorious]!

Thus our King is full of love and compassion, faithfulness and righteousness who has the power to render a perfect governance.  There is peace and joy in His Kingdom.  There is  prosperity and protection in His Kingdom.  That is the reason Lord Jesus Christ taught us to pray Heavenly Father, who is in heaven, Thy Kingdom Come and Thy Will Be Done on earth as it is in heaven because Your Kingdom is Perfect and Your Will is the Perfect Solution to us all.  

To all the problems in the society, the solution is not in any man-made systems which is flawed but it is in the Kingdom of God.  When we declare and decree the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth and pave way for its rule and reign, it brings in solutions of peace and prosperity.  Submitting to His Kingdom and His Will is the wise decision one can make, as taught by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  So it is quite meaningful to say “Father in Heaven Thy Kingdom Come and Thy Will be done on earth as it is in Heaven” Isn't it?

So, what are your thoughts on the Kingdom of God and His dominion and Power? Please feel free to share.

Written by Shanta S. Daniel

[Copyright@ Permission is granted to duplicate this article in its entirety, but only without additions, alterations or omissions of any kind, including the author and ministry name at the end]