Matthew 6: 9-13 "Thy Kingdom Come, Thy Will Be Done"

The Lord’s Prayer. The prayer we pray together every Sunday, one that has become so familiar to some of us that it has lost its power. For others of us we have simply recited the words but never thought about their meaning. This week we return to our sermon series about the Lord’s Prayer and the rich meaning of the prayer when it comes from our heart.

In our first week of this series we reflected together on the words, “Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be thy name.” We discussed how God is our Daddy, whom loves us dearly. Who is the creator of the universe, yet as close as our breath. Who is holy, yet calls us to simply sit in his presence. This week we will be looking at the next phrase in the prayer, “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done.”

Think back to prayers that you have recently prayed. After you addressed God what is the first thing that you prayed for? For many of us it was probably asking something for ourselves or something for someone we love dearly. For healing. For protection. For a new job. For better pay. To solve a problem we are having. There is nothing wrong with these petitions, in fact God wants us to bring all of our joys and concerns before him. But Jesus tells us to pray for something different first, for something bolder. That God’s kingdom comes. 

One of the books I read recently was called The Circle Maker  - the premise is that we need to pray big bold prayers, but all too often we are willing to pray for less. Willing to not believe that God answers prayer. But Jesus is inviting us to pray the boldest of all prayers, that God’s Kingdom Come. We are asking God’s reign to be evident in our lives. In the world around us. We are asking God to be present in our hearts and in our world. We are handing everything over to God, recognizing that he is in control. Asking him to come into even the darkest corners of our lives, our relationships, our world. 

That is a scary prayer to pray. Maybe you don’t want God to actually occupy all of your life. Maybe you want to hang on to control. So you don’t think about the boldness in the request “Thy Kingdom Come”. You avoid praying it in your own prayers, yet alone praying it first and foremost and instead settle for smaller requests. Personal wants and desires. 

Pastor Max Lucado reflects on the words “Thy Kingdom Come” in connection to the story of Queen Esther. Esther was not always Queen of Persia, but instead won the position in a beauty competition of sorts. But it ends up that God was aligning Esther into the position in order to help save the people of Israel from Hamen, the right hand man of the King of Persia who wanted to kill all of the Jews. Now Esther herself was a Jew, as was her cousin who had raised her Mordecai. Mordecai urged Esther to speak to the King before all of her people were killed. But she hesitated at first, because it seemed like too big of a request, too dangerous of a situation. For even the Queen must be summoned to the King before she could speak. 

How many of us feel like Esther. That praying the words “Thy Kingdom Come” is just too bold of a request? Not feasible? To scary? So we hesitate. Or think it isn’t our right, or perhaps not our job as a follower of Christ to pray these words. Yet, Jesus asks us to be bold in our prayers before the throne of God. 

Finally Esther is convinced that she needs to speak to the King on the behalf of her people. So she devises a plan to have him invite her to speak to him. When she wins the Kings favor and he asks her what she desires, she not only states her requests, but it is granted.

Friends, what is God grants our heartfelt prayer to have the Kingdom of God come? What would that mean in our lives? In our town? In our nation? In our world? Our God invites us to make this request. Our Lord instructs us to pray in this way, that the Kingdom of God come and be known among us! Praise be to God! Do we believe our request will be granted? Do we pray as if it is coming? Or do we simply recite the words, not seeing and believing the power behind them?

Jesus tells us not only to pray that the Kingdom of God come, but that God’s will be done. But once again, do we realize the power behind what we are praying? Time and time again in scripture we see the disciples just not getting it. They expect Jesus to come and overthrow the Roman government, even though Jesus came to overthrow the power of sin and death. They expect him to be a conquering King, not a humble Messiah. The walked with Christ for three years and still didn’t get what the will of God was.

Many of us know the verse from Jeremiah that states, I know the plans I have for you. Plans to prosper and not harm you. But we don’t know what those plans are. We don’t understand the will of God in our own lives, let alone the will of God for our world. How can we discover what the will of God is and pray together in hope and certainty “Thy Will be Done”?

First, we need to worship together. To study together. Because God can speak through the body of Christ. How many of you have ever had a word of clarity come from another believer being a vessel of God? How many of you have been used as this type of vessel? God can give a human voice to a divine word, leading us the direction we are to go. 

Second, God speaks through Scripture. But to God to speak to us through scripture we have to be in the word, both individually and together in small groups. The more that we are in the Word, the more it sinks into us and it can come to mind when we are seeking the will of God. 

God also speaks through our individual time with Him. In Bible study this last week at the college we called this our time to dwell with Him. Our time to simply be in the presence of God and grow in our relationship with him. For if we do not have a relationship with God, how can we trust his will, let alone seek it out? It is in our relationship with God that we recognize the fire and leading of the Holy Spirit in our lives as we seek the will of God. Its here that we learn who God truly is, and what is the desire of God’s heart. So we follow not our own desires, but God’s. 

There are other ways to get to know the will of God. These are simply three places to start. But once again I ask you, are you willing to pray this bold prayer knowing that it may mean that you don’t get what you want? Do you mean it when you pray, “Thy Kingdom Come, Thy will be Done?” or are they simply ritualistic words? How would it impact your prayer life and your relationship with God if these were the first requests you made each and every time you prayed? If you don’t feel comfortable with that, I would encourage you to ask yourself why. To pray about it. To have a conversation with God about what makes you uneasy about the bigness, the boldness of these requests. If you believe that this is what you are lead to start praying, try it. For a week. For two weeks. For the duration of this series. Invite God to be the first priority in your prayer life and see what comes - for it may just mean the Kingdom of God taking root among us, and seeing the will of God with a new heart. Amen.