The Lord's Prayer: "Thy Kingdom Come" Series

A little boy was playing with his French fries, dipping one end of a fry into the ketchup then waving it like a baton in front of an imaginary marching band. Mom was gone for the day and so he and his father were enjoying a special moment together at a near by McDonald’s. The little boy seemed more interested in playing with his French fries than eating them.

“Eat your French fries…” the father coaxed, but the son just kept waving his French fry baton as the band played on. Now there was nothing planned for the afternoon, so the dad decided to just watch his son for a while. Then without even really thinking about it, the dad reached over and took one of the French fries out of its carton to munch on. Suddenly and to his utter astonishment, the little boy shouted “NO!” and slapped at his fathers hand.

With a combination of shock and disbelief, the father said, “that’s not nice; you shouldn’t treat people that way”. Then as if he didn’t even hear it, the little boy went back to leading his make-believe band.

The thoughts going through this father’s mind ranged anywhere from anger to sadness. “Wait a minute” he thought, “I bought those fries and I can have one if I want too!” But the father just sat back pondering and wondering what the future held for he and his son.

We sometimes can be like this little boy when it comes to our Heavenly Father. How often has He reached over to take one of our French fries and we’ve slapped his hand and shouted “No!” only to go on and do that which is most important to us.

The question of the little boy and his father is a question about our Heavenly Father and us, His children.

“Who owns the French fries?”

When we pray, “Thy kingdom come,” as part of the Lord’s Prayer, we are relinquishing more than French fries, we are recognizing that God is the ruler of our lives. That He owns the French fries.

When we pray the Lord’s Prayer, we first pray, “our Father who art in heaven.” We’re recognizing that God is our Father who is close and intimate and who cares for us.

However, when we pray, “Thy kingdom come,” we’re taking it a step further to a whole new level of relationship. We’re also recognizing that God is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. And as King, He has a plan for our life and desires to rule our life with His Kingdom’s principles for His purpose.

Without this understanding, we cannot rightly pray the Lord’s Prayer, because in order to rightly pray it we need to know several things.

1.God is Our Ruler-King

What do people expect from a king? I know this is hard for those of us who live in a democratic society and vote in our elected leaders. In fact the Constitution of the United States begins with “We the people.” People in a democracy rule themselves. We have:

• The legislative branch of government, (the Congress), that determines the rules we live by.

• The judicial branch, (our courts and judges), who interpret and apply the law to specific cases.

• The executive branch, (the president and his cabinet), who administers government.

But as Christians, we also live under God, who is a King.

David said, You are my King and my God Ps 44:4. And just as our American democracy is ruled by three branches of government, God rules His kingdom.

• He determines the rules on earth and heaven.

• He judges those who break His rules and rewards those who keep them.

• He is the Executive Administer of His Kingdom.

Therefore, when we pray “Thy kingdom come,” we are first and foremost inviting God to rule in our hearts by His principles. Secondly, we are acknowledging and submitting to the fact that we have chosen to live in the kingdom God rules.

2. God rules the kingdom in which we live as Christians

The rule of God on earth is called “The Kingdom of God”. Not everyone is a member of this kingdom, because you must join the kingdom and pledge allegiance to the King. People enter the kingdom when they are “born again”. Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again. John 3:3 Spiritual new birth is a prerequisite for admission into the Kingdom of God.

As a result of this new birth, we have become pilgrims, sojourners, which essentially means that we are passing through this world. In that great prayer of Jesus, the ‘real” Lord’s Prayer if you will in John 17, Jesus prayed: 14I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. 15My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.