Praying "Thy Kingdom Come"
Some thoughts on perception versus reality
The buzzer for the first period sounded. The girls from both teams made their way to their respective benches to drink some water, rest for a few seconds, and receive some needed instruction or encouragement from their coach—maybe both.
This meant that it was time for all the guys who would be playing in the varsity boys basketball game to make their way to the locker room. This always went about the same way:
We’d goof off for a bit while changing into our jerseys and our “stripes.” For warm-ups, we wore a long-sleeved shirt over our jersey and maroon and gold striped pants over our shorts.
After we were ready, we might step outside to cheer the girls on or stay in the locker room to listen to some music while preparing for the game. Eventually, half-time would come and we could spend a few minutes shooting around. In the third and fourth periods, we stayed inside the locker room unless the game was especially close.
Eventually, our coach would come in, give us a pep talk, and send us on our way, but before we would take the floor, there was one thing we always did.
Ethan would call for us to huddle up, and we’d all recite The Lord’s Prayer in KJV English.
Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil:
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
Matthew 6:9–13
While everyone else’s heads were bowed, me and a few friends would share knowing glances during “Thy kingdom come.”
I remember a few times saying “Thy kingdom came” under my breath.
We were taught that the kingdom had already arrived and “The Lord’s Prayer” or “The Model Prayer” was not meant to be recited (that would be vain repetition) and it wasn’t for us anyway. The kingdom was already here, so to pray otherwise would be theologically incorrect.
Worse yet, it might even be related to that premillennialism stuff.
The only person in my tribe who I ever heard contradict this idea was a camp counselor named Evan. When he voiced his opposition during a Bible study one morning, I just knew he was lib-uh-rul.
But here’s the thing—I don’t think it’s bad to recite this prayer, and I don’t think it’s wrong to pray the “Thy kingdom come” part. Let’s start with the latter part since that might be most shocking to some of you.
Thy Kingdom Come
First of all, I believe the kingdom of God is here. I believe that you and I are citizens of it, and I believe this is very good news.
Colossians 1:13 says that we have been transferred into the kingdom. Daniel 2 predicts that the kingdom would arrive in the time of the Romans, and Jesus affirms that the kingdom was at hand when he started his ministry (Mark 1:15).
So how could one reasonably pray “Thy kingdom come” if the kingdom is already here?
I think this comes down to an old discussion we’ve had on my blog in the past about the difference between perception and reality.
In reality, God’s kingdom is here. Jesus was, and is, victorious. John and Jesus had it right—the kingdom really was “at hand.”
But in another sense, our perception does not always align with this reality. We experience pain, suffering, and death, and these things have a way of making it hard to see things how they truly are. But for me, and probably for you, this is less about me personally experiencing these things but me experiencing them through others: family and friends, neighbors, and my fellow humans whose corpses, crises, and calamities are displayed on the news 24/7.
Where is the healing for the nations? Where is the increase of Christ’s government?
In this way I think it is totally appropriate to pray “Thy kingdom come” while fully believing the kingdom is already here. We need more people to wake up to this idea so that this healing can be realized, and, in a sense, this is another way that the kingdom of God arrives in the lives of individuals and communities.
Vain Repition
“Go with us throughout the day, throughout the night, and throughout all our days upon this earth.”
This was how Laura’s granddaddy began to end all of his prayers…if that makes sense. Every Sunday when we would sit around the table, he would lead a prayer, and he would always say this.
But do I think this is an example of vain repetition? Not at all.
I think he meant it every single time.
And you probably know people who have similar prayers. When they say a key word or phrase, you could probably finish the sentence for them. And while some prayers might get repetitious, I don’t think these repetitions are necessarily in vain.
And I think the same is true with The Lord’s Prayer.
When we say this prayer, we join with millions of other saints who have prayed this prayer before us. Which of us doesn’t need to be reminded to depend on God for our daily bread? Which of us doesn’t wish for God’s will to be done?
Sure, some could say this prayer without meaning it, but I think most Christians could stand by every word of this prayer.
While prayers like this do not replace our more conversational prayers, they do give us a rhythm to fall into, a blueprint to follow. If we don’t know what to pray, we can meditate on these words of Jesus.
My friend Corri once suggested that we treat this prayer like a table of contents. Start with the first line and work our way through as we address all of our thoughts, anxieties, fears, and needs. We might pray about what we need that day and then move to praying for forgiveness.
While some may still not be comfortable reciting this prayer for one of the reasons mentioned above, I don’t think it’s appropriate to look down on others for following Jesus in saying this prayer. There’s a reason it was preserved for us, and I don’t think it has lost its meaning or power for today.
Bible Nerd Corner
So the main part of the article is over, but I have a few more thoughts on this I thought I’d share. First of all, when was Matthew written? Some scholars posit the writing of Matthew in the 80s.1 Others would argue that Matthew was written before the fall of Jerusalem.2 I tend to agree with the latter opinion.
So, would it be appropriate for someone to pray “thy kingdom come” following Pentecost? Typically, in my tradition at least, the time surrounding Pentecost is usually the time that people think the kingdom of God came in some kind of official sense. If this is true, then why would Matthew, writing after the arrival of the kingdom, record this teaching of Jesus if indeed the kingdom had already come?
One explanation could be that the fall of Jerusalem had not yet taken place, and the fall of Jerusalem is also related, in some way, to the arrival of the kingdom (Luke 21:31-32; Revelation 11:15). So while the kingdom had come in some sense, there was still a future aspect to the kingdom since Jerusalem hadn’t fallen—if the dating of Matthew falls before AD 70.
However, if we allow phases of the kingdoms arrival, then could we not consider other times in history as a further development of the kingdom’s arrival, or to use the language of Isaiah, the increase of the government of God? Or might we borrow from the imagery in Daniel 2 where the kingdom is likened unto a mountain that fills the whole earth. It would then make sense to count new church plants, new converts, and more and more people teaching and living the love of Jesus as new ways the kingdom is arriving in the world.
I think this teaching was preserved by the apostles and their disciples for a reason, and I think that reason is to teach us how to pray. For this reason, and a few more, I have started including this kind of language in my prayers and studies. It is not that I think the kingdom has not yet come; instead, it’s that I believe it has come and is always on the verge of overthrowing principalities and powers that still oppress others, distort truth, and otherwise work against God’s will in the world today.
Luz, Ulrich. Matthew 1–7: A Commentary on Matthew 1–7. Edited by Helmut Koester. Rev. ed. Hermeneia—a Critical and Historical Commentary on the Bible. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2007.
Brown, David, A. R. Fausset, and Robert Jamieson. A Commentary, Critical, Experimental, and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments: Matthew–John. Vol. V. London; Glasgow: William Collins, Sons, & Company, Limited, n.d.