When Jesus taught His disciples how to pray, He made sure to stress just how significant a commitment it is to say, “Your kingdom come.” As always, Jesus wasn’t just concerned with the words coming out of His follower’s mouths, He got right to the heart of the matter. Praying The Lord’s Prayer requires a type of surrender that acknowledges God’s divine supremacy and our total dependency. When we pray this prayer, we hand over the key to the castle of our life.

Transcript

When the disciples asked the Lord to teach them how to pray, I can imagine they were shocked at how short the lesson would be.

The Lord answered their request and delivered to them a lesson on prayer that took less than 2 minutes. He delivers to them a prayer – not so much to memorize, but to model.

And while it only took the Lord 2 minutes to teach them this prayer, it will take us several hours to unpack the richness of this prayer as we study it together.

And by the way, when we get to the end of this series we’re calling The Disciple’s Prayer, we will in no way uncover the theological depth and the practical application found in this 2-minute prayer.

We’re studying through the Gospel by Luke, now in chapter 11 where this event takes place.

So far, the Lord has taught the disciples to begin their prayer with the personal and affectionate term, Father.

Matthew’s gospel adds the words, Father, who is in heaven.

In other words, you have gained access into heaven because you’ve personally done something on earth. He became your Father when you asked His son to become your Savior. So praying is effectively a family matter. 

So this prayer begins by acknowledging our family affection.

The prayer goes on to acknowledge the Lord’s divine attributes. Our Father, in heaven, hallowed be Your name.

Hallowed means to be sacred and holy and reverenced. To the Jewish world, a name reflected someone’s nature and  character and reputation.

So to pray, hallowed be Your name, is a prayer request where you ask God to reveal His character to the world – and it also asks that God use you to live in such a way that His reputation is enhanced.

This prayer effectively declares that you are willing to take responsibility for the reputation of God.

So if you wanna know how to really pray, Jesus is teaching them – and us – that prayer begins with family association; it then accepts responsibility to demonstrate to your world His holy attributes – the reason you wanna live a holy life is because He’s holy and you’re His child. You are reflecting Him to your world.

Just like you hope your children behave when you go out in public – and you’re usually a little disappointed. Your kids get into a fight in the toy section – I saw it first.

You push your grocery cart with your child in the front seat of the cart – everything’s been fine – your child has been a little angel, until you pulled into the checkout lane where all that candy is strategically placed at eye level with your child. Is that brilliant or what?  Who told them to do that? Satan did. He wants your child to be a fallen angel – and just like that, your child starts crying – he starts telling everyone in the store that you are a stingy, mean, and uncaring. You can’t do to your child what you wanna do because you’re out in public – you have to stand there and exercise supernatural control – besides, the lady behind you is now recording you on her Iphone. You’re stuck, so you buy those M&M’s for your little angel – and you buy yourself a double pack of Resee Cups, because you deserve it.

You see, praying this prayer effectively says, “Father, I’m your child, and when I go out in public, I don’t want to embarrass You; I don’t want to embarrass the family name.

Let me live in such a way that your attributes – your grace and holiness and purity and mercy and longsuffering will be demonstrated through me. I am going to take the responsibility for your reputation.

Now, the next two requests flow out of each other, so we’ll unpack them together.  Notice verse 2 again – from the beginning:

Father, who is in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Luke 11:2/Matthew 6:9-10

Father, (Matthew adds: who is in heaven), hallowed be Your name. (Now notice the next prayer requests) Your kingdom come – Matthew adds – Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.

This prayer begins with a family association, with a desire to demonstrate the Father’s attributes, and now it surrenders to the Father’s agenda.

Your kingdom come – Your will be done.

Jesus is teaching us early on that this prayer only has room for one king. He has us admitting early on that we are no longer the king of our own castle.

If we’re gonna be the king of our own castle, then we can’t pray this prayer.

We are literally surrendering to the government of God.

Now this phrase, Your kingdom come, is rooted in prophetic anticipation. The future, literal kingdom of Christ is coming – and that’s how we’re being taught to pray simply because the kingdom hasn’t arrived yet.

If the kingdom had arrived when Jesus came to Galilee, He would be teaching His disciples to pray, “Father, thank you that Your kingdom came.”

But instead, they’re being instructed to pray, “Your kingdom come.” This is a prayer request for something yet future.

You could translate this imperative verb, “let your kingdom happen – let it take place – let it come.” (^{John MacArthur, Luke: Volume 2 (Moody Publishers, 2013), p. 22})

The coming of this literal kingdom takes place, according to prophetic scripture, following the tribulation period.

During that tribulation, the Lord will regather Israel and bring them to repentance; there will be a global awakening spiritually, even though the antichrist is doing his worst during this 7-year tribulation period.

At the end of the tribulation, Jesus returns with us, by the way, not for us, but with us – because He’s already taken His church to the Father’s House in that rapture, preceding the tribulation period.

But now, according to Revelation 19, the redeemed – clothed in white linen – descend with Him to reign over all who’ve come to faith in Christ during the tribulation – and there will be millions of people, from every tribe, tongue and nation.

They will be the mortals who survived the tribulation, and are now ushered into the Kingdom of our Lord, over whom we will co-reign for 1,000 years, Revelation 20. During this reign all the prophecies of a future Israel, a future kingdom, a future throne in Jerusalem – all of these prophecies will come true.

For instance, the prophecy of Zechariah will come true when he prophesied, And the Lord will be king over all the earth (Zechariah 14:9).

This is the promise of Jesus to His disciples in the upper room; “I tell you that I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.” (Matthew 26:29)

Jesus is teaching them and us to pray for that future day – the day when Satan is banished to the abyss and the promises of God to the nation Israel – to regather them, to give them the land, and a kingdom and a Messiah/King – when all that comes true (over 200 prophecies in the Old Testament still unfulfilled); when Christ is enthroned as King.

It is tragically ironic that our current United Nations – now representing more than 193 nations – reject the truth of Christ and His coming reign – many of these nations despise the concept of God the Son coming to earth and dying for our sins, so that all who place their faith and trust in Him will have forgiveness – and one day see this rejected Messiah return as a regal Messiah.

They reject all of that, but they still long for a united, peaceful, global world – and isn’t it ironic that the United Nations expresses that longing by using prophetic scripture.

At the United Nations campus, there’s a plaza where peace protests and political rallies for world unity have taken place now for some 65 years.

There on that plaza is a wall, bearing a verse of scripture from the prophet Isaiah.

And that’s because engraved into the wall are the words of Isaiah the prophet, who happens to be speaking of the Millennial Kingdom – when Christ rules on earth.

The text on the wall reads, “They shall beat their swords into plowshares – or plows – and their spears into pruning hooks, nation shall not lift up sword against nation neither shall they learn war any more.”  Isaiah

So although mankind doesn’t want any part of surrender to Jesus the Ruler they cannot resist the Biblical promise of a coming age where war is gonna be a distant memory and global unity will actually occur among the nations as the Lord reigns and these nations follow the Savior.

This is a magnificent monument and I’m glad the words are carved into the monument or they would have been erased long ago.

At the endo of the quote is the prophet’s name – Isaiah.  In fact, this monument is nicknamed, the Isaiah Wall.

By the way, the specific reference in Isaiah has been left off – all you have is the name Isaiah – there’s no reference to chapter 2 and verse 4; perhaps they’re afraid somebody might look it up – because if they did, they would discover that the verse on this monument is only the last half of the verse.

The portion they engraved into the wall says nothing about the coming King.

Here’s what the preceding text:

For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And He will judge between the nations and shall decide disputes for many people, and they shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks, nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.

Isaiah goes on to say, “Come let us walk in the light of the Lord.

This prophecy of global peace is directly tied to the literal reign of Jesus Christ from Jerusalem where He will rule the nations.

You can’t have the last part of the verse without the first part of the verse. You can’t have peace on earth without the Prince of Peace sitting on the throne.

Our world wants a peaceful setting without a personal Savior.

So the believer is taught to pray for the day when the divine agenda of God will reach a glorious point of consummation as Christ descends and establishes His thousand year kingdom on earth, following the tribulation.

But let me tell you, this prayer for the future kingdom of Christ has bearing here and now.

When you and I pray, “Thy kingdom come”– we’re effectively handing over the kingdom of our own lives to Him – our rightful king.

You can’t pray for the government of God to be established on earth if you really don’t want God governing your life right now.

One author writes that the kingdom of God isn’t just a destination for where we’ll live one day; it’s a motivation for the way we live right now. (^{Adapted from Warren W. Wiersbe, On Earth as it is in Heaven (Baker Books, 2010), p. 68})

To pray “Your kingdom come” is to genuinely implore the Lord to come into your life and experiences, and there establish His royal influence. (^{Adapted from Phillip Keller, A Layman’s Look at the Lord’s Prayer (Moody Press, 1976), p. 63)} 

If you pray, “Your kingdom come” you are:

• relinquishing the rule of your own life ^(Ibid)
• dismissing the parliament of your decisions;
• setting down the prime minister of pride;
• closing down the congress of self-will;
• you are abdicating the throne of your life
• you are handing the key to the kingdoms of your heart and saying to Jesus, “Long live the King.”

You see, there is a future reality where the King is coming, but a present reality that the King has already come and conquered the kingdoms of your heart.

Your life is an expression of “Long live that King.”

I love the way a church leader put this tradition into practice each morning; he once served as a Bishop in the church of England – Taylor Smith served in the church of England in the 1800’s, serving as honorary chaplain to Queen Victorian in 1896. His commitment to Christ was well known and after his death, one of his personal memos came to light where he wrote, ‘As soon as I awake each morning I rise from bed, wash, shave and comb my hair. Then, fully dressed, wide awake and properly groomed I go quietly to my study where I present myself as a loyal subject to my Sovereign – ready and eager to be of service to Christ my King.” (^{Keller, p. 67})

That’s what it means to pray, “Your kingdom come.”

And if that isn’t convicting enough; if that isn’t perspective altering and life changing enough, here’s the next phrase that flows out of this one – it’s given by the Lord in Matthew’s account.

Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Matthew 6:10

In that event where the Lord was preaching on the subject of prayer to the crowd, in Matthew chapter 6, the Lord adds these words after, “Your kingdom come” – here’s the next prayer request: “Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

The Greek expression “Your will be done” means to pray, “I want Your will to happen.”

And that’s a little confusing because isn’t God’s will gonna happen – regardless of what we do or don’t do, God’s will – will – happen.

There isn’t anything that God wills, that isn’t gonna happen.

So what does this mean? Well, in order to understand this particular prayer request – and our part in this – is to understand what Al Mohler pointed out so well in his book I read this summer on this passage, entitled, “The Prayer that Turns the World Upside Down.”

Let me encourage you to buy his book – just don’t buy it until I’ve finished this series. Then it’ll amaze you how much he learned from my sermons.

He pointed out that the concept of the “will of God” has been recognized for centuries in two different ways. First, there is the sovereign will – or the decree of God’s will.

And I would agree, the Bible often speaks of God’s will in this sense, referring to His absolute, sovereign rule over everything that exists because God willed it to exist. Mohler writes, from the smallest particle of sand to the political actions of world powers, every event in the cosmos is ordered and orchestrated according to the will of God. (^{R. Albert Mohler, Jr. The Prayer that Turns the World Upside Down (Nelson Books, 2018), p. 89)}

You see that in scripture - whether it’s the heart of Pharoah or the election of a president or king or the establishment of a nation – nothing happens apart from God’s sovereign will.

But there’s another aspect to God’s will and that’s His revealed will. That’s what He expects of us. The revealed will is found in the Ten Commandments, for instance. It’s up to us to obey His commands. Paul referred to God’s revealed will when he wrote to the Thessalonians, “This is the will of God, that you abstain from sexual immorality.” (^{Ibid, p. 89)}

In other words, it’s the will of God, but you can choose to obey Him or disobey Him – He isn’t going to make you obey His revealed will.

Now, your obedience or disobedience has been known to Him from eternity past – and He weaves your obedience into His sovereign will, so that His purposes come to pass.

Think of it this way, Joseph’s brothers sinned and sold him into slavery – God didn’t make them sin against Joseph, but He knew they would – and He wove into His purposes from eternity past – their sin, so that it brought about the rescue of the nation Israel from famine. And Joseph would tell his brothers – you meant it for evil, but God meant it for good.

That’s how God works all things together according to His will.

Now what’s Jesus asking us to pray about here? It can’t be a prayer request for the sovereign will of God, because God’s will is already being done in heaven as it is on earth.  (^{Ibid, p. 92)}

Jesus is teaching us to simply make one more statement of total surrender – we’re effectively praying here, “Father, I want my life to be obedient to your revealed will – your word – your desires – your character.

I want your will to be done in my life.

And by the way, it isn’t just about being obedient. Did you notice the comparison –

Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Matthew 6:10

This is a comparison of our obedience on earth, to the angels obedience in heaven. And we’re praying that it won’t be a contrast, but a comparison.

So . . . just how does God’s will get done in heaven?

Immediately! Nobody talks back to God. No angel ever asks God, “Why me?”

When God told Gabriel to go tell the priest Zachariah about his wife Elizabeth’s soon to be pregnancy and the birth of their son John the Baptizer; then God sent Gabriel to Mary about her miraculous conception of Christ – then He told Gabriel to go back and tell Joseph what happened to Mary, Gabriel didn’t say, “Give me a break – I just got back” – climbing Jacob’s ladder is no picnic. Lord, why don’t you send Michael the archangel, he hasn’t done anything since Daniel chapter 10 – that was 600 years ago. He’s been sitting around for 600 years. It just isn’t fair.”

Since the angels have been confirmed in holiness following their refusal to join Satan in his rebellion, they now follow the will of God immediately: without debate – without defensiveness – without disobedience. There will never be another uprising in heaven.

They never ask why, they just obey.

So when you pray this prayer you’re praying, “Lord, I want to live down here, like they live up there. I want to respond to You on earth like they respond to You in heaven.

Your will be done on earth just like it is accomplished in heaven.

And by the way, notice the language here; you’re not praying that your will be done in heaven, you’re praying that Hiswill be done on earth.

Praying “Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” is total surrender.

You’re giving Him the throne room of your heart and mind and you’re also giving Him the control room of your body and direction – your career – your health – your plans – your future.

This prayer is total, unrestricted, unreserved, unlimited, unconditional, surrender.

You are no longer the king of your own castle. There’s only one King – and we’re not Him.

And we’re reminded of that every time we dare to pray “Thy kingdom come, they will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” (John Wesley, in his book on prayer, written in 1755, included the prayer of a puritan pastor by the name of Richard Alleine who lived in the 1600’s.)

His prayer perfectly illustrates the kind of surrender the Lord is teaching His disciples – and us – to this day:

It goes like this:

I am no longer my own, but Thine. Put me to what Thou wilt, rank me with whom Thou wilt; put me to doing, put me to suffering.

Let me be employed for Thee or laid aside for Thee, exalted for Thee or brought low for Thee. Let me be full, let me be empty; let me have all things, let me have nothing.

I freely and wholeheartedly yield all things to Thy pleasure and disposal . . . Thou art mine and I am thine. So be it . . . Amen. ^{Quoted in J.I. Packer, Praying the Lord’s Prayer (Crossway, 2007), p. 61}