Your Kingdom Come

Recently, I have been meditating on Jesus’ words from the Lord’s prayer: “Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as is in heaven.” There is a powerful song called “Kingdom Come” by Rebecca St. James and for KING & COUNTRY that sheds a whole new light on this sentence.

I always thought that asking for God’s kingdom to come was, basically, asking for Christ’s return. And while that is definitely part of it, there is so much more. I did some research on the term “kingdom of God” in the NT, and here is what I found:

-Matthew 6:33-We are to seek it first.

-Mark 1:14-The gospel is called “the gospel of the kingdom of God”.

-Mark 1:15-John the Baptist proclaimed it was at hand.

-Mark 10:14-Jesus said it is made up of childlike faith.

-Luke 9:60-We are to preach it.

-Luke 17:21-It is within us.

-Acts 14:22-We can only enter it through many tribulations.

-Romans 14:17-It is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.

-1 Corinthians 4:20-It is not in word, but in power.

The kingdom of God is not yet physically established on this earth. However, it does exist in our hearts as believers. Within us, it is like a tower of righteousness, power, peace, joy, and faith that God had built. And while we pray for Christ’s return, when we will dwell in God’s literal kingdom on earth, let us also pray for His kingdom to come, even now, first and foremost in our hearts, so that we may further it and share it with others.

Every time we grow in Christ, His kingdom expands within us. And every time another heart accepts Christ as Lord of his or her life, His kingdom furthers, on earth just as it is in heaven. Let us pray first that God would expand His kingdom more and more in our hearts and lives, and then that He would use us to further His kingdom in others.