- Sep 10, 2020
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Thy Kingdom come, they will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Christ ordered us to pray those words so it seems clear that by prayer, we are allowed some small effect on the inevitable return of God’s Kingdom to this fallen realm. Many Christians would say there is nothing we can do to effect the return of the Kingdom of God to the face of the earth but others would respectfully disagree. All Christians believe in the power of prayer though and since Christ himself actually told us to pray for the return of the Kingdom, it follows that he granted us some type of involvement. Otherwise he was telling us to pray for something our prayers could not affect. Christians don’t believe that about Christ.
Christ performed miracles through prayer. He fed thousands and raised Lazarus from the dead through prayer so he obviously knew its power. Christ testified of the power of prayer and would have never told us to pray for something if our prayers couldn't affect some type of outcome. Christ told us to pray for the return of the Kingdom because he wanted us involved in it’s return. He knew our prayerful involvement would be beneficial to our own person, and to that end, he granted us a certain level of effective participation.
That’s not to say we were given some type of thumbs up or thumbs down authority over the Kingdom's return. We don’t get to say yea or nae to the Kingdom of God and even if every human being on earth opposed it, the Kingdom of God would still return in all fullness at a proper time of God’s own good choosing. By his grace though we are allowed to; even called to participate through prayer in the Kingdoms return.
Not because God can’t do it without us but more like God won’t do it without us. We have to live in our fallen world mess until we decide to become an active part of the risen world's glory. God has not destined his Kingdom to come upon us in a conquering type of way, against our will. Rather, God destined the human species to eventually grow wise enough to consciously choose and actively pursue our Lord's Kingdom after exhausting all of our own vain attempts at human governance by our own fallen selves.
Christ told us to pray for the Kingdom's return not because he needs our help but because that prayer would help us. He wants us involved for our own good. Praying for the Kingdom's return changes us internally, aligning our hearts more fully to that which we pray for; the Kingdom of God. As our hearts become more aligned to the ways Kingdom we begin practicing those ways in our day to day dealings with one another. By giving prayerful, longing voice to the Kingdom, we cause ourselves to become more oriented to its divine precepts and more likely to practice those precepts in our own lives. We become more tuned into the spirituality of the Kingdom and inadvertently begin to change bit by bit as the virtues of the Kingdom overcome the vain distractions of this fallen realm. Thus does our Lord's Kingdom not come upon us so much as it grows outward from within us.
It pays to remember here that the ways of the Kingdom are already within our being anyway, like a seed planted in our flesh and awaiting the rain. We already know the ways of God; faith, hope, charity, grace and love. We know these virtues are the brick and mortar of the Kingdom when practiced by we fallen inhabitants of the earth. And we already practice these divine virtues to degrees which we are comfortable with but very few of us have the faith to push ourselves beyond our comfort levels. We don't actually actually give out of our need as the poor widow at the temple did. We know we should forgive as Christ himself forgave but most of us are pridefully stuck waiting for someone to say "I'm sorry" and even then our acceptance of the apology is often begrudged and conditional. We tend to forget that Christ forgave all people while still on the cross, suffering mockery from those who had no intent of ever apologizing. Christ forgave them anyway because that's what the Kingdom looks like.
We perceive these virtues because the Kingdom of God is already within all of us, in varied degrees and forms with different people. Some of us are very forgiving and others more charitable than others but none of us practice any of these virtues perfectly because the internal seed of the Kingdom has not yet been watered enough by the power of prayer. That's why Christ told us to pray for the Kingdom, he knew it would strengthen our existing virtues and give rise to virtues we might not yet possess.
Praying for the Kingdom was never intended to bring the Kingdom in from some outside location. Praying for the Kingdom was intended to bring it out from within us in the form of actual works which would chase back the ways of the fallen world with the ways of the Risen Christ. We aren't saved by these works because salvation already took place by accepting Christ and all he represents as our Savior. But the good works of a saved person carry forth our redemption beyond our individual personhood, sending it forth into the fallen realm. Our souls begin to proclaim the glory of the Lord through deeds that change the fallen world around us. Praying for the Kingdom of God extends our individual redemption outward, as our works of the Kingdom begin to change the world at large.
Where we once looked away from a homeless panhandler, our prayers for the return of the Kingdom now lead us to pry open our wallets even though we still suspect that panhandler’s problems might be of his own making. And where we once nursed a grudge against one who wronged us and never apologized, we now recall that Christ forgave all mankind whilst still on the cross, without waiting for an apology. These are everyday examples of "thy Kingdom, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven" in action, taking place through sinful but prayerful people of a changed mindset.
These changes in our mindset occur because when we pray “thy Kingdom come” the Kingdom manifests inwardly first and then exudes outward in our thoughts, words and deeds. This is how we come to play a role in the return of the Kingdom. It grows outward from a changed self as we begin to channel the Kingdom we pray for into the world around us. We who are fallen begin to fill the earth with the divine attributes of He who is risen, the attributes of grace, charity and justice for all people, all of which are the brick and mortar of the Kingdom of God.
Pray for the Kingdom's return internally then, with proper humility before God, not thinking of it coming from without but coming from within our own fallen self. Let us pray that our King's indwelling presence effect ever greater internal change in our own imperfect self. Let us pray that we may channel the Kingdom's ways of grace, charity and justice outward from our internal selves, that we may exude the ways of the Risen Christ outward upon the fallen world. For by grace are we called by God to participate in the return of his Kingdom for our own greater good, that through us may his Kingdom come, and his will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
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Christ ordered us to pray those words so it seems clear that by prayer, we are allowed some small effect on the inevitable return of God’s Kingdom to this fallen realm. Many Christians would say there is nothing we can do to effect the return of the Kingdom of God to the face of the earth but others would respectfully disagree. All Christians believe in the power of prayer though and since Christ himself actually told us to pray for the return of the Kingdom, it follows that he granted us some type of involvement. Otherwise he was telling us to pray for something our prayers could not affect. Christians don’t believe that about Christ.
Christ performed miracles through prayer. He fed thousands and raised Lazarus from the dead through prayer so he obviously knew its power. Christ testified of the power of prayer and would have never told us to pray for something if our prayers couldn't affect some type of outcome. Christ told us to pray for the return of the Kingdom because he wanted us involved in it’s return. He knew our prayerful involvement would be beneficial to our own person, and to that end, he granted us a certain level of effective participation.
That’s not to say we were given some type of thumbs up or thumbs down authority over the Kingdom's return. We don’t get to say yea or nae to the Kingdom of God and even if every human being on earth opposed it, the Kingdom of God would still return in all fullness at a proper time of God’s own good choosing. By his grace though we are allowed to; even called to participate through prayer in the Kingdoms return.
Not because God can’t do it without us but more like God won’t do it without us. We have to live in our fallen world mess until we decide to become an active part of the risen world's glory. God has not destined his Kingdom to come upon us in a conquering type of way, against our will. Rather, God destined the human species to eventually grow wise enough to consciously choose and actively pursue our Lord's Kingdom after exhausting all of our own vain attempts at human governance by our own fallen selves.
Christ told us to pray for the Kingdom's return not because he needs our help but because that prayer would help us. He wants us involved for our own good. Praying for the Kingdom's return changes us internally, aligning our hearts more fully to that which we pray for; the Kingdom of God. As our hearts become more aligned to the ways Kingdom we begin practicing those ways in our day to day dealings with one another. By giving prayerful, longing voice to the Kingdom, we cause ourselves to become more oriented to its divine precepts and more likely to practice those precepts in our own lives. We become more tuned into the spirituality of the Kingdom and inadvertently begin to change bit by bit as the virtues of the Kingdom overcome the vain distractions of this fallen realm. Thus does our Lord's Kingdom not come upon us so much as it grows outward from within us.
It pays to remember here that the ways of the Kingdom are already within our being anyway, like a seed planted in our flesh and awaiting the rain. We already know the ways of God; faith, hope, charity, grace and love. We know these virtues are the brick and mortar of the Kingdom when practiced by we fallen inhabitants of the earth. And we already practice these divine virtues to degrees which we are comfortable with but very few of us have the faith to push ourselves beyond our comfort levels. We don't actually actually give out of our need as the poor widow at the temple did. We know we should forgive as Christ himself forgave but most of us are pridefully stuck waiting for someone to say "I'm sorry" and even then our acceptance of the apology is often begrudged and conditional. We tend to forget that Christ forgave all people while still on the cross, suffering mockery from those who had no intent of ever apologizing. Christ forgave them anyway because that's what the Kingdom looks like.
We perceive these virtues because the Kingdom of God is already within all of us, in varied degrees and forms with different people. Some of us are very forgiving and others more charitable than others but none of us practice any of these virtues perfectly because the internal seed of the Kingdom has not yet been watered enough by the power of prayer. That's why Christ told us to pray for the Kingdom, he knew it would strengthen our existing virtues and give rise to virtues we might not yet possess.
Praying for the Kingdom was never intended to bring the Kingdom in from some outside location. Praying for the Kingdom was intended to bring it out from within us in the form of actual works which would chase back the ways of the fallen world with the ways of the Risen Christ. We aren't saved by these works because salvation already took place by accepting Christ and all he represents as our Savior. But the good works of a saved person carry forth our redemption beyond our individual personhood, sending it forth into the fallen realm. Our souls begin to proclaim the glory of the Lord through deeds that change the fallen world around us. Praying for the Kingdom of God extends our individual redemption outward, as our works of the Kingdom begin to change the world at large.
Where we once looked away from a homeless panhandler, our prayers for the return of the Kingdom now lead us to pry open our wallets even though we still suspect that panhandler’s problems might be of his own making. And where we once nursed a grudge against one who wronged us and never apologized, we now recall that Christ forgave all mankind whilst still on the cross, without waiting for an apology. These are everyday examples of "thy Kingdom, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven" in action, taking place through sinful but prayerful people of a changed mindset.
These changes in our mindset occur because when we pray “thy Kingdom come” the Kingdom manifests inwardly first and then exudes outward in our thoughts, words and deeds. This is how we come to play a role in the return of the Kingdom. It grows outward from a changed self as we begin to channel the Kingdom we pray for into the world around us. We who are fallen begin to fill the earth with the divine attributes of He who is risen, the attributes of grace, charity and justice for all people, all of which are the brick and mortar of the Kingdom of God.
Pray for the Kingdom's return internally then, with proper humility before God, not thinking of it coming from without but coming from within our own fallen self. Let us pray that our King's indwelling presence effect ever greater internal change in our own imperfect self. Let us pray that we may channel the Kingdom's ways of grace, charity and justice outward from our internal selves, that we may exude the ways of the Risen Christ outward upon the fallen world. For by grace are we called by God to participate in the return of his Kingdom for our own greater good, that through us may his Kingdom come, and his will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
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