Prayer as Kingdom Partnership

1. Your Kingdom Come

When you think of the word “kingdom,” what comes to mind? It may bring up ideas and images of old kingdoms from ages past; fantasy and fairy tales; castles, thrones, and crowns; institutions and forms of government where royalty, kings, and queens rule over people. Our Western minds have a hard time wrapping our heads around the term “kingdom.” It does not fit well with our ideas of democracy, freedom, liberty, and independence.

God’s kingdom is radically different. God’s kingdom is where God rules. He rules as sovereign Lord over all creation and over all of history, past, present and future. It is where God is and where we are totally with God. It is wherever God’s will is done in explicit fullness and undeniable power.

Dallas Willard describes the kingdom as “God in action.” At the center of the biblical teaching on the kingdom “is the idea of an all-loving and all-powerful God who is in action for us and with us. He is not passive. He is not distant. He is not indifferent.” History is God’s Story. It is the story of the coming of God’s kingdom. It’s the story that tells us that God’s kingdom came in Jesus Christ. It tells us that God’s kingdom is coming. Jesus will return to establish his kingdom rule fully and completely over all in the new creation. It’s the story of the Church. It’s the story of how God’s kingdom is coming now, in this world, in and through God’s people.

“After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” (Mk 1:14-15). When Jesus says “the kingdom of God has come near,” He is proclaiming that God is acting. He is asserting His rule in the world in and through Jesus’ ministry. Teaching, healing people, and casting out demons He showed that God’s kingdom has come. On the cross, God’s kingdom came, and his will was done. The cross was the ultimate clash between our wills and God's will, between the world’s kingdoms and God’s kingdom. In the cross of Christ, God met the principalities and powers. He exposed and disarmed them. Even though the war between God and the forces of evil continues, the decisive battle has been fought and won. When Jesus left his tomb on Easter morning His resurrection showed that God’s rule was victorious. He has conquered his rebellious world, evil, and death. God's will has been done. His kingdom has come.

And so, when we pray this prayer “Your kingdom come” we acknowledge that when Jesus came into the world, God’s kingdom broke into the world in a new and special way. But, seeing and knowing that God’s kingdom has come and is here, requires a response, a decision. Will we be part of this kingdom or not? God’s kingdom is a question about whom we worship. To be part of this kingdom is to acknowledge who is in charge, whose will ultimately counts in this world and in our lives. C. S. Lewis said that Jesus spoke and acted in such a way that one either had to follow him or else decide that he was crazy. There is no middle ground in his kingdom. You either had to move toward it, risk letting go and being caught up in his kingdom project, or else like the rich ruler, you had to move on, realizing that you wanted to maintain your citizenship in the kingdoms of the world, keep doing your own will and the will of the world.

Jesus says, “Come and follow me.” But He is not only inviting us to enter and be part of his kingdom. He is calling us also to be his partners in the coming of his kingdom. He invites us to join his mission and to continue his life and ministry in the world. As we follow Him we are being transformed into the image of Christ so that we can represent the kingdom for people to see what God’s rule, and what God’s love in action looks like. The Holy Spirit guides and empowers us to live like Jesus, to live out God’s kingdom on earth. When we pray the Lord’s Prayer we enter into a kingdom partnership with our Lord.

God’s kingdom is not merely a spiritual reality. It encompasses and includes all of this earthly reality, all of our lives. Our culture, politics, economics, social relationships, family relationships, our daily activities, all of these are spiritual because they are part of God’s kingdom and under his sovereign reign. He is Lord of all, and He calls us as his kingdom people to make his rule, his kingdom visible in all areas of our lives. And where we continue Jesus’ ministry and live out the kingdom life, there God’s kingdom is coming.

But we should also know, that in praying, "Your kingdom come," we are in a power struggle that can become violent because the kingdoms of the world rarely give up power without a fight. This is a very real battle because the rulers and kingdoms of this world will tempt us at every opportunity not to live the kingdom life. They will do so in our economics tempting us with greed. They will do so in our politics tempting us with power. They will do so in our moral lives tempting us with lust and self-gratification.

The prayer, "Your kingdom come,” also tells us that we have become part of God’s kingdom people. When we pray this prayer, we are thereby signifying our citizenship in this new kingdom. We are pledging our allegiance to a new sovereign, relinquishing our allegiances to the kingdoms of this world. As the church gathers to pray this prayer, we are forming a visible new community, formed on the basis of God's rule and will. This community lives by new command: “Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (Jn 13:34-35). God’s kingdom comes in and through us when we break down the walls of hostility and separation and truly love one another.

In the closing episode of season 2 of The Chosen, Jesus gives Matthew the opening words for his sermon on the mount. “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Mt 5:3-10). He tells Matthew that this is a map, directions to where people should look to find Him. “How is it a map?” Matthew asks. Jesus replies, “If someone wants to find Me, those are the groups (the people) they should look for.”

We are the signposts to Jesus and his kingdom. Wherever we live out the kingdom life, there we are pointing the world to Jesus inviting them, “Come, follow Jesus, and experience the blessings of God’s kingdom.”

2. Your Will Be Done

When we pray, your will be done, we confirm that everything is in God’s hand. We affirm our faith and trust in God. God’s will is being done in heaven. Ps 103:20-21 — “Praise the Lord, you his angels, you mighty ones who do his bidding, who obey his word. Praise the Lord, all his heavenly hosts, you his servants who do his will.” The angels and heavenly hosts stand ready to do His will. In the universe, all the galaxies, stars, and planets move according to his design.

However, when we pray, “Your will be done, on earth as in heaven,” we are aware of how God’s will is not being done in our world and in our lives. We are asking God to act in such a way that life on earth increasingly resembles the love, joy, peace, justice, and righteousness of his kingdom. Where God’s will is done there his kingdom comes and is visible. Therefore, we pray that God’s kingdom will come and his will be done in our hearts, our lives, our churches, and our communities.

We often get our prayers upside down. We pray as if we expect God to change the universe to give us what we want. No, we must conform our will to His will, and then his kingdom will come in our lives. Prayer is not getting God to do my will. It is asking that God’s will be done in my life, my family, my work, my business, my sports, my school, and my relationships, as it is done in heaven.

Again, to pray "Your will be done" is to recognize that prayer is about achieving God's will, not our will. We must follow Jesus’ example of praying and submitting to the Father’s will. On the eve of His crucifixion, Jesus prayed to be delivered from arrest and death in the Garden of Gethsemane. “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will … My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done” (Mt 26:39, 42). The answer was no. The ending of all truly Christian prayer is the same that Jesus prayed: Not my will but yours be done. Prayer is lifelong training in taking God's will more seriously and our own will less so. 

But we should be aware that to ask that God’s will be done in our lives is to recognize that we enter a combat zone. We are living in a world that is hostile to God and his children. For us to do God’s will on earth as it is in heaven requires that we must go against the current. We take our stand against the kingdoms and powers of this world. And even when we go against God’s will, His plans will triumph. God's intent for the world is not hindered by our plans. His kingdom will come, and his will be done on earth regardless of our efforts. Luther said, “God can shoot with the warped bow and ride the lame horse." God takes our evil and causes all things to work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose (Ro 8:28).

Thus, when we pray, "Your will be done," we pray to have our lives caught up in some project, some story, something greater, bigger, and better than our lives, namely, the adventure of what God is doing in the world, God’s kingdom adventure, the Story of God’s kingdom. Prayer is about kingdom partnership and participating in this adventure of God.

3. Prayer as Kingdom Partnership

There can never be any question of whether or not Christians ought to withdraw from the world. Here, in praying, “Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth ..." we are being thrust into the world because it is here that we will see God’s kingdom come and his will be done. God’s kingdom has come and is coming. It is here and not here yet in its fullness. It is present and not yet fully present. When asked when the kingdom of God would come Jesus answered, “The kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed, nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you” (Lk 17:20-21). God’s kingdom will not be observable through culture, creeds, power structures, or governments. His kingdom and his rule become visible when and where his people, live the kingdom life, obeying God’s will so that his will is done on earth as in heaven. Therefore, our first priority must be to seek first his kingdom and his righteousness in all we do. We must become kingdom-minded people.

God himself is building his kingdom using his holy living materials, his chosen living stones, you and I. We, you and I, are living, breathing evidence that God has not abandoned the world, and that his kingdom is coming. Our God gives us the privilege of partnering with Him in His work on behalf of the people of this planet. That partnership begins with prayer.

Pray this week that God’s Kingdom will be evident in our lives as we interact with people around us. Pray this for our church. Ask for opportunities for His Kingdom to be shown and His will to be done. Pray that others will see God in action as they watch our lives. We can show the world what God in action, and God’s kingdom looks like. As people in our community see God’s blessing on you as you mourn with them, care for the poor, and show mercy and humility, they will ask about the availability of the kingdom and its blessings for their lives. So, let us pray without ceasing that God’s kingdom will come and his will be done in our hearts, our lives, our families, our church, and our community.