Dear Christian friends:

During these Wednesdays of Lent I am preaching to you from the Lord's Prayer. Today we take up the Second Petition: "Thy kingdom come." Its just three words: THY KINGDOM COME. Perhaps it seems like an easy prayer, but it is not an easy prayer, and we Christians should understand what it means. We should not pray without understanding it. If we do that we mock God. Jesus wants us to think about what we pray and mean it. So let us this morning attend to these three words and learn what they mean.


First, we need to understand what God's kingdom is. We sign "kingdom" this way. (make the sign) That is not a good sign for God's kingdom. Its all right for earthly kingdoms, but not for God's. That sign gives the idea that God's kingdom is a place, a land like the U.S.A. or Mexico. But God's kingdom is not a place or land area. "And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you." (Luke 17:20-21) The kingdom of God is God ruling in our hearts! God's kingdom is people who believe in God.

Martin Luther explains this prayer. He writes: "The kingdom of God comes indeed without our prayer of itself, but we pray in this petition that it may come unto us also. How does this happen? When our heavenly Father gives us His Holy Spirit, so that by His grace we believe His holy Word and live a holy life, here on earth and hereafter in heaven."

How is this prayer related to Jesus' suffering and death? Jesus by His suffering and death on the Cross made the kingdom of God ready for us.

On the Cross Jesus suffered much more than the bodily pain of crucifixion. He suffered God's anger and terrible punishment. He cried out, "My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me?" Truly God did forsake Jesus on the Cross. Why? Because He agreed with the Father to accept our sins and the sins of the whole world. Therefore God saw Jesus the same as the worst man on earth. "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." (2 Corinthians 5:21)

St. Paul writes, "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: 'Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.'" (Galatians 3:13) By His holy death and suffering on the Cross Jesus made the kingdom of God ready for us.

When Jesus began His ministry after His baptism and after the devil tempted Him Jesus preached: "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel." (Mark 1:15) Jesus meant: "God's Kingdom is ready. It is finished and prepared for you. God has done everything. The Savior God promised through the prophets is here! God's grace is here! Forgiveness of sins is here! New birth and new life is here! God's gracious rule is here! Therefore, repent and believe the Gospel!"

Therefore, when we pray: "Thy Kingdom Come," we are asking God to give us His Holy Spirit so that we can believe in Jesus, accept Him for our Savior, and give up worldly pride and Satan's ways and walk humbly obeying God's holy ways.

We are also praying that God's gracious rule will come to many other people's hearts. We are praying for missions and missionaries.

Finally when we pray: "Thy kingdom come," we are praying that God will hurry and let Jesus come again to judge all nations on the Last Day. We are praying for the Kingdom of glory to begin on heaven!

Try to remember these precious meanings of these three words: "Thy kingdom come!", Then God will truly hear and answer your prayer!

Amen.