“In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” – Matt. 6:9,10
Salient issues embedded in the Lord’s Prayer
First of all, let us appreciate the fact that it was our Lord Himself who gave this prayer point and that it occupies a highly strategic place (the first point) in the prayer sequence. This alone as a number of implications:
- It is a matter extremely dear to the heart of God and our Lord
- It is something all believers should take with all seriousness and tenacity. In fact, it is a mandatory assignment for all believers (Jesus wasn’t giving a suggestion but an instruction.)
- If the Lord asked us to be praying it, then both He and the Holy Spirit must be praying the same prayer right now (scripture tells us that both are currently engaged in the ministry of intercession)
- Without our actively praying this prayer, the actual literal coming of the Kingdom will continue to be a mirage – otherwise, Jesus would not have asked us to pray it. In other words, even though the coming of the Kingdom is the Lord’s will, it is not automatic.
- This also means that the coming of the Kingdom does not only depend on God but on us as well. In other words, as much God wants His Kingdom to come, He is helpless if the Church does not only pray but learns to pray aright.
- If the Lord and the Spirit are praying it, then come what may, it MUST be answered! A season must come in time when both heaven and the earth must testify that that prayer has been answered. “Your Kingdom come” is not supposed to be just a prayer cliché. It is a reality which the Government of Heaven wants to see materialized in time.
Why did the Lord ask us to pray this prayer? Simply because God’s Kingdom had been restricted to Heaven and His will was not being done on the earth. If God wanted His Kingdom to remain in Heaven, He would not have bothered raising that prayer point. The singular desire of the Lord is to see the kingdoms of this world become the Kingdom of our God and His Christ. He is waiting, seated in Heaven until this happens.
Note that the Lord is fully aware that the mission (of bringing the Kingdom to earth) is achievable and clearly within our grasp – when we pray. He asked us to pray because that prayer, when prayed correctly, will truly and fully be answered – here on earth and not in heaven.
If this is so important to God, it implies that other (satanic) forces are definitely at work opposing God’s intention to bring back His rule into the earth.