"Pray then like this: 'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.'" Matthew 6:9-13
Having underscored the goodness of Abba Father, which is to lead to a prayer that would extol the centrality and the glory of the triune God, 'hallowed be Thy name,' there is now a call to plead for the inbreaking of the power of Christ through the Holy Spirit in building and sustaining His kingdom.
Heidelberg Catechism, question 123
Q: What is the second request?
A: “'Your kingdom come,' That is, so rule us by your Word and Spirit that more and more we submit to you; preserve and increase your Church; destroy the works of the devil– every power that rises up against you and every plan conceived against your Word; until your reign has fully come and you are all in all.
Larger Catechism 191
Q: What do we pray for in the second petition?
A: In the second petition, (which is, Thy Kingdom come) acknowledging ourselves and all mankind to be by nature under the dominion of sin and Satan, we pray that the kingdom of sin and Satan may be destroyed, the gospel propagated throughout the world, the Jews called, the fulness of the Gentiles brought in; the church furnished with all gospel officers and ordinances, purged from corruption, countenanced and maintained by the civil magistrates; that the ordinances of Christ may be purely dispensed, and made effectual to the converting of those that are yet in their sins, and the confirming, comforting, and building up those that are already converted: that Christ would rule in our hearts here, and hasten the time of his second coming, and our reigning with him for ever: and that he would be pleased so to exercise the kingdom of his power in all the world, as may best conduce to these ends.
Shorter Catechism Question 102
Q: What do we pray for in the second petition?
A: In the second petition (which is, "Thy kingdom come"), we pray that Satan's kingdom may be destroyed, that the kingdom of grace may be advanced—bringing ourselves and others into it and keeping us in it—and that the kingdom of glory may be hastened.
Shorter Catechism Question 103
Q: What do we pray for in the third petition?
A: In the third petition (which is, "Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven"), we pray that God, by His grace, would make us able and willing to know, obey, and submit to His will in all things, just as the angels do in heaven.
Geneva Catechism Question 269
Q: How do you pray that this Kingdom may come?
A: That the Lord may increase the numbers of the faithful, that day by day He may increasingly bestow His graces upon them, until He has filled them completely; moreover, that He cause His truth to shine more and more and manifest His justice, so that Satan and the powers of darkness may be put to confusion, and all iniquity be destroyed and abolished.
CONSIDERATIONS:
What is the kingdom? The kingdom is the rule and reign of the resurrected Christ, who brings His redemptive power to His people.
We pray this prayer, realizing that we live in the “already, but not yet”.
• On our adoption
Romans 8:15 and Romans 8:23.
• Redemption
Ephesians 1:7 and Ephesians 4:30
• Salvation
Ephesians 2:8 and Romans 5:9
So what are we praying? The advancement of the kingdom of the resurrected Christ and the destruction of the devil and his overtures. (Heidelberg Catechism Question 123).
What is our response to seeking the kingdom?
"For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works." Titus 2:11-14