Thy Kingdom come.
Scripture
“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.” Matthew 6:9-10
Observation
These scriptures was birthed from Jesus teaching us the right way to pray. Jesus was giving the model of prayer (Matthew 6:9-15). Prior to this, He was emphasising on the fact that prayer isn’t about being seen by men as the hypocrites would do by standing in the synagogues and corners of the street(Matthew 6:5) . It’s an intimate thing between you and Your Father.
“Our Father” suggests that we need to also pray with the heart posture of a child. Children come to their parents with everything and believe all their requests will be fulfilled by their parents.
Taking a look at this first line , “our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name “, it’s very important to approach God with praises always. Psalms 100:4 reaffirms this because it states that we enter into God’s presence with thanksgiving and praises.
When we say “His kingdom come”, it’s both in our lives and in the world we live in. First, He needs to have control over our beings. This looks like submission of our free will to Him. We are sometimes obsessed with our purposes and what we want to do for God but how can you establish His will in the world when He has not first established His will in your personal life ? It is only then we can go to other places, saturated by Him and take dominion.
Application
If God doesn’t have control over the minor things we do then how can He have control over the major things? For God to lead our lives, He makes rules for us by His standards. This is when you live a consecrated life because you want to live by God’s standards and to look more like Him. Consecration is a measure of which you’re restrained for God to lead your life and to use you.
It’s very easy to go into God’s presence and begin to list your requests without first acknowledging Him. Think about it for a split second, someone you spend time praising and thanking for a deed done for you here on earth is likely going to do more for you as they deem you appreciative. So it is very important that we do not skip thanksgiving and praises. “Our Father in heaven”, the location of where our prayers are going is also very important. Heaven is a perfect place where possibilities are endless so dare to ask big and to ask for more (Ephesians 3:20). When we also say His kingdom come and His will be done this means we don’t just stop at “hearing” from God when He gives us orders, commands and instructions. We take it up a notch by practicing “obedience”. We don’t pick and choose which areas of our lives to hand over to Him. He has rights , highest and the final authority in our lives . That’s why obedience is better than sacrifice (1 Samuel 15:22) because in sacrifice you can pick what to do and to give Him but in obedience you allow Him to exercise His authority and you just follow.
Prayer
Heavenly Father thank You for the blue print on how to pray. Praise and honor be to Your name. I ask Father that you help me to be more intentional on how to pray the right way. Where I have not exercised obedience, please forgive me. Help me to follow Your will always in Jesus Name I pray amen.