If interesting factoids are your thing, it would probably interest you to know that one of the greatest theologians in the Reformation, John Calvin, began his commentary notes on this phrase by saying, “this is nothing new.”  At first glance, it might seem a bit shocking to use such casual and dismissive language as this in a commentary on the Lord’s prayer.  Yet, when we look a bit deeper, we can see that he is right.

 

Coming to this second petition, we’ve already prayed that God’s name would be made holy and isn’t that, at least in part, what happens as God’s Kingdom comes in our lives and expands in the world?  God is, after all, the antonym of sin, and His will is not just that sin would take a back seat or generally be less bad.  His will is that sin will be completely crushed and entirely eradicated from the hearts of all people and from the world.  There will be no compromise at the end of time, sin will be done away with completely.

 

It can be so easy for us to get caught up in the issues of the day, whether they be social, political, or otherwise.  We have opinions, ideologies, and preferences that are part of the makeup of who we are as human beings for each and every subject or issue that we are presented with.  Make no mistake, God also does as well.  When we pray that to God “Your Kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth, as it is in heaven,” we are laying aside our own will and preference for the sake of God’s work and ultimately God’s glory in our lives and in the world.

 

Remember, Jesus’ teaching on the Lord’s prayer was not meant to be a line-up of words that have some sort of magical ability to get God’s attention.  Jesus wasn’t giving us the passcode to God’s listening ear, He was teaching us about prayer, the content, substance, and direction that He wanted to see it take in His disciples’ lives.  So once again, while this statement can be simply a declaration, it is a phrase that reminds us what our purpose is: we are praying into God’s Kingdom.

 

What this doesn’t mean for us is that if we pray fervently enough all of the sudden good things will happen.  Nowhere in Scripture will you find anything that teaches this.  Unlike the teachings of some, particularly those who tout the prosperity gospel of “name it and claim it,” this is not simply a matter of having the right words with the right intensity.

 

This also does not come as a sort of passive statement that, if we say it, eventually God will make it happen.  While Scripture does teach that God acts on behalf of His people, perhaps in the case of healing diseases or turning the hearts of people toward himself and that the prayer of the righteous person is both “powerful and effective,” we are again no talking about magical incantations that bend God toward our will.

 

In fact, we see right in the wording that Jesus uses that this isn’t about our will, it’s about God’s.  As Jesus is teaching His disciples to pray, He is teaching them that the appropriate posture of God’s people is to see their will bent towards His.  The Heidelberg Catechism’s answer to this Lord’s Day is incredibly telling here: “Rule us by your Word and Spirit in such a way that more and more we submit to you.“

 

As we pray into the will of God, we begin to see our hearts turned toward His.  We begin to see things as He sees them; love people as He loves them.  We even see ourselves more able to forgive others just as God has forgiven us in Jesus Christ.  In all of this, we then see the expansion of God’s Kingdom, His rule, and reign on the hearts of His people, spread outward from our lives into the world around us.  The effects of sin are pushed back… our selfish hearts are softened and our desires are molded and shaped into God’s will both in our lives and in the world.

 

When we take this approach, too, we will see God’s Church expand as well.  The Church is not the Kingdom, but when churches become Kingdom minded, they will give witness to the Kingdom, be heralds of the Kingdom, work to expand the Kingdom, and in turn, see themselves grow as well.  Never in Scripture do we see teaching of prioritizing our church before the Kingdom.  Sometimes it is difficult to see this when our local church is going through difficult times.  We tend to look inward, hoard our resources, and protect ourselves.  That, however, is not the teaching that Christ puts forth in this prayer.

 

God calls us to be about the business of the Kingdom, to be workers in His harvest field.  When we declare “Your Kingdom come, Your will be done…” we are reminded of the priorities that God has for His people.  God’s Kingdom is one of abundance and provision coupled with trust.  Sure, we can be prudent with church finances and expenditures, but never at the expense of Kingdom vision and work.  We are called to “Seek first God’s Kingdom and His righteousness.  Then all of the other things will be added unto you.”