Last week we looked at the first petition in Jesus’s pattern for prayer, “hallowed be your name.” This week we look at the second petition, “your kingdom come.”
We all desire a world where justice rolls down like water, where sickness and death ceases, where God rules the nations and the nations rule as God would have them rule, and where we behold the face of our Father in Heaven with unveiled faces. Many of us have given up on such a world. We have become too content with moldy bread, when a feast awaits us. God’s Word assures us such a day will come.
When we pray “your kingdom come,” we ask the Father to send the kingdom our hearts were made to yearn for. Such a day will come, and we do well to beseech God to bring it, especially as we witness so much violence, injustice, sickness, and heartache in this world.
When we pray “your kingdom come” we also pray that God’s kingdom would come, even now, through our demonstrations of God’s kingdom on earth. We, as those in Christ, have been called out of the dominion of darkness and transferred into the Kingdom of the Son (Colossians 1:13). In families, at the work place, among friends, in the public square, even in the grocery store or when someone is stuck on the side of the road with a flat tire, God uses ordinary people to shine his light into this world. “Lord, bring your kingdom to earth and use me to do so,” captures this aspect of the petition.
Jesus said: “No one lights a lamp and puts it in a place where it will be hidden, or under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, so that those who come in may see the light.” (Luke 11:33) Let your light shine. Let God’s kingdom break into the darkness with his dazzling light through you!
I invite you to pray this prayer with me: “Heavenly Father, there is too much darkness and despair in this world. Please use me as a little light to shine your great big Light into this world. When people see me may they see a glimmer of you, albeit an imperfect one. Use me like a lighthouse, to lead lost and weary souls to the light and hope of our Savior, Jesus Christ.”