The Lord's Prayer: Your Kingdom Come

Jesus' offer for us to pray 'your kingdom come,' is one of the most powerful prayers that we can imagine. The kingdom of God itself was the cornerstone and center of all Jesus' ministry and preaching. The first words of his ministry was about the kingdom. And when Jesus spoke with pilate near the end of his life, the conversation was climaxed with words like "my kingdom is not of this world.

The way Jesus asks us to pray this line brings us into the mission and meaning of this kingdom. We are invited to be a part of, not just the kingdom itself, but as a part of God's work in actually bringing this reality to fruition. There's some very important ideas that come directly from this short line in this short prayer.

1) Your kingdom come;

First off Jesus asks us to pray for the growth of the kingdom with 'your kingdom come.' Whenever I think of the growth of the kingdom I think of how Jesus compared it to a mustard seed. He said how even though it was so small it would take over the whole garden, and birds can rest in it's branches.

What's most interesting about the mustard plant is that it was considered taboo in Jesus day to plant a mustard seed for the very reason of how it can take over the garden. A mustard plant was seen as something unwanted, and unappreciated. It seems like a good description of the kingdom to me. And beyond this, if you've ever planted a garden then you'll know, that the last thing you want are the kinds of birds that will flock in and eat up all your seeds and berries before harvest. And so we find that the kingdom of God is this unwanted thing which becomes a resting place for unwanted things.

When we're called to pray for God's kingdom to come, we're called to pray for the growth of the unwanted, and the unacceptable to become a part of our lives. Often this is simply the kind of people that our cultures see as unwanted. But often it also means simply living in a way which will be counter cultural, taboo, and unacceptable. It is a difficult calling for to pray for this to become more of a reality in our lives.

2)  Your will be done:

Secondly, we're called to pray 'your will be done.' The biggest question this answers is actually quite significant, and the answer is quite simple. God's will is not always done in this world. It seems almost too big of a concept to matter, but I believe that this is actually quite significant. If God's will is always done, that's actually quite more uncomfortable for me. Can you imagine that all the war, famine, disease, poverty, oppression and greed in the world was actually exactly how God wanted it to be?

The calling of this line is plain and simple, to to accept that God's will is not always done, and to become a part of making that a reality. The prayer of 'your will be done' means praying for God's values and ways to become more and more a reality in our lives. It means accepting the kingdom values as the means to which we will bring God's kingdom into our reality.

Discussion:

1) What unacceptable, taboo, or counter cultural changes have you experienced in your life? How do you live differently than the world because of your faith? Give three examples.

2) What are some of the lifestyle choices you make simply because it's the way the world works? Give three examples? Do you like them or not?

3) How comfortable are you with the idea that God's will is not always done? Does this make you comfortable or uncomfortable? (Is that the point?)

Pray as a group for the Kingdom to be a reality here and now. Pray for it to change us and motivate us.