Sermon July 13th, 2025
“Thy Kingdom Come;” Matthew 6:10
So last week, we dissected the first part of the Lord’s Prayer, “our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.” This morning, we go to the next part of the prayer: “Thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” This is a very profound and powerful petition from this prayer. These are not just words to be recited; they are declaration, a longing, and a call to action. What does it mean today?
What does it truly mean to pray for God’s Kingdom to come and His will to be done, not just in some distant future, but right here, right now, on earth as it is in heaven? This is a vision of heaven touching earth. This is not a passive hope. It is a bold world-shaping petition. It is a declaration of allegiance and a surrender of self. These petitions tell us who God is, what God wants, and what it means for us to be disciples of Jesus.
The prayer for the coming of God’s kingdom is for God’s rule, not that of foreign or false leaders. On earth as it is in heaven applies to the first three petitions; it expresses the community’s desire to reflect God’s priorities in its actions and relations. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
When we pray, “thy kingdom come,” we are acknowledging two vital truths about God. The first one being the Kingdom of God is already here. Jesus Himself declared, “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” In Jesus, God’s reign broke into human history. Wherever Jesus walked, taught, healed, and delivered, the Kingdom was manifest. It is present in the hearts of those who acknowledge Christ as Lord, in the Church, and wherever God’s truth and love prevail. To pray “thy kingdom come” is to ask for a deeper, more profound manifestation of this existing reality in our lives and in our world.
The second one is that the Kingdom of God is yet to come in its fullness. We look forward to the day when Christ returns, when every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, and when God will wipe every tear from our eyes. This prayer expresses our yearning for that glorious consummation, when all evil will be vanquished, and God’s perfect reign will be fully established. So, when we pray “thy kingdom come,” we are praying for both the expansion of God’s present reign in our lives and and the world, and for the hastening of His ultimate, glorious return.
I referred to Roberta Bondi last week, she wrote an incredible book on the Lord’s Prayer that I’ll quote from during this series. On the kingdom of God, she writes, “God’s kingdom, which comes according to God’s will, is a gift, not a nightmare of coercion. God desires our life and not our death. ‘Do you not realize,’ Jesus asks us, ‘that God’s kingdom is where God’s will is done, and that God’s will for you is for your well-being, and for the well-being of all God has created? This is the Kingdom you pray for. If you live in this awareness, then as far as it is possible in this world, you can live now in the Kingdom.”
When Jesus teaches us to pray, “thy kingdom come,” He is inviting us into a hope that transcends the brokenness of the world. This kingdom is not like earthly kingdoms—built on power, wealth, or force. God’s kingdom is about righteousness, justice, mercy, and peace. It is the reign of God breaking into the world through love. To say “thy kingdom come” is to admit that this world is not yet what it should and ought to be. It is a prayer that names our longing for a world made right—for justice to roll down like waters, for swords to be beaten into plowshares, for the lowly to be lifted up. But notice this: the kingdom is not just something far off in the future. In Jesus, the kingdom has already come near. Every healing, every act of mercy, every table Jesus invited sinners to—that was a glimpse of the kingdom. And now, He says to us: “You pray for it. You seek it. You live it.”
We are praying for a kingdom of the heart, which begins within us. When we forgive, love our enemies, and serve the least, we become outposts of heaven. We are praying for a kingdom for the world. We are praying not just for personal transformation but for global renewal—where justice and peace reign.
James Mulholland, in his book “Praying Like Jesus” reminds us of this: “Jesus began many of his stories with the words ‘The kingdom of God is like…’ He compared the kingdom of God to a seed, yeast, a hidden treasure, and a pearl of great price. It is small and easy to miss, yet endowed with great power and worth. The kingdom of God is usually the very opposite of what we would expect. It is a kingdom founded on grace rather than works, grounded in love rather than legalism, and open to all rather than to a few. Most important, it is a kingdom most concerned about those who have been ignored, neglected, and even oppressed by the kingdoms of this world.”
So following “thy kingdom come,” we pray, “Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” This part of the prayer is a powerful act of surrender and alignment. Consider for a moment how God’s will is done in heaven. In heaven, there is perfect obedience, perfect harmony, perfect justice, and perfect love. Angels perfectly execute God’s commands. There is no rebellion, no suffering, no sin. God’s will is done completely, joyfully, and without hindrance. Now look at the earth. We see brokenness, injustice, suffering, and sin. God’s will is often resisted, ignored, and defied. When we pray “thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven,” we are praying for a radical transformation. We are asking for three things.
First, we are asking for divine alignment. That our wills, our desires, our plans, and our actions would align perfectly with God’s perfect will. This requires humility, discernment, and a willingness to lay down our own agendas. Next, we are asking for societal transformation. That God’s principles of justice, mercy, truth, and love would permeate our communities, nations, and the entire world. We are praying for an end to oppression, poverty, violence, and all forms of evil. Finally, we are asking for healing and restoration. That the brokenness of creation, marred by sin, would be healed and restored according to God’s original design. This prayer is not passive; it is active. It calls us to not just to pray for God’s will, but to participate in bringing it about.
“Thy will be done” is a prayer of surrender. These words are a declaration: God, not my will, but Yours. Not my plans, my pride, my comfort—but Your desires, Your purpose, Your justice. This is perhaps one of the hardest parts of discipleship: learning to pray and mean “thy will be done.” It means laying down control. It means trusting God’s wisdom over our own. It means saying, “even if the path is difficult, even if I don’t understand, I will walk where You lead.” Jesus Himself prayed this in the garden: “not my will, but yours be done.” And in doing so, He showed us that God’s will is not easy—but it leads to resurrection. When we pray for God’s will, we are laying down our own. It is not about asking God to bless our plans—it is about aligning ourselves with His. It is not enough to understand God’s will—we must live it in our homes, our workplaces, our communities.
So, how do we, as believers, become agents of God’s Kingdom and instruments of His will on earth? Through our personal obedience. The Kingdom begins within each of us. As we surrender our lives to Christ, obey His commands, and allow the Holy Spirit to transform us, we become living examples of God’s will being done. Our transformed lives are a testament to His power.
Through prayer. This prayer itself is a powerful weapon. When we pray “thy kingdom come, thy will be done,” we are not just speaking words; we are inviting God’s power and presence to invade our circumstances. We are interceding for the world, for our leaders, for the lost, and for the suffering. Through service and justice. God’s will includes caring for the poor, advocating for the oppressed, seeking justice, and loving our neighbors. When we engage in acts of compassion, mercy, and justice, we are actively participating in bringing heaven to earth. We are demonstrating what God’s kingdom looks like. And through proclamation. We are called to share the good news of the Kingdom—the Gospel of Jesus Christ. As people come to faith, they enter God’s Kingdom, and His will begins to be done in their lives.
As James Mulholland writes, “Prayer is uniting our will with the will of God. It is not an attempt to get God to do our will. It is desiring to do what delights God. It is discovering that what pleases God will ultimately bring us joy as well. It is following in his footsteps even when he leads where we fear to go.”
We are not praying to escape the earth—we are praying for heaven to come here. We’re asking for a divine reversal, for the love and justice of heaven to flood our neighborhoods, our schools, our churches, our systems. And here’s the most challenging part: God invites us to be part of the answer to that prayer. When we feed the hungry, we are enacting heaven on earth. When we forgive those who hurt us, we bring heaven closer. When we challenge injustice, welcome the outsider, protect the vulnerable—we are agents of the kingdom.
Jesus does not teach us to pray “take us to heaven,” but “let heaven come down to us.” The mission of the Church is not simply to wait for the kingdom but to work for it, now. Heaven is not just a future hope, it is a present calling. We are ambassadors of heaven, called to reflect its values here and now.
“Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” This is more than a petition; it is a vision, a mission, and a profound declaration of faith. It reminds us that our ultimate hope is not in earthly kingdoms or human efforts, but in the sovereign of God. Let us, therefore, pray this prayer with sincerity and conviction. Let us live in such a way that our lives reflect the values of God’s Kingdom. Let us be agents of His will, bringing His love, justice, and truth to a world desperately in need.
We are stepping to a radical vision for life. We are asking God to transform our hearts, rule over our lives, and use us to heal the world. May God’s Kingdom come, and His will be done, in our hearts, in our homes, in our communities and across the entire earth, just as it is in heaven. To God be the glory this day and always. Amen.