I’m sure you can recite the rest of this prayer in your sleep. We have been taught to pray it at church and perhaps taught to pray it at home. Why? Because we were first taught to pray it from Jesus himself…that’s a pretty big deal.
Even so, it’s funny how easily the deep meaning of words and phrases can be forgotten when I begin to say them out of habit or ritual. Although, I never do forget the power of “give us today our daily bread” and “forgive us our debts,” I may more easily brush aside the parts that say: “as we forgive our debtors” or “lead us not into temptation.”
Recently I have been stuck on this phrase: Your kingdom come. Jesus said to pray that His kingdom would come and His will would be done on earth as it is in heaven. So then, if I really want to mean this as I pray, I have to ask myself: What if His Kingdom really came that near to me? What if His Kingdom came that near to you? What if that Kingdom broke into my family and community the way that it is in heaven?
When I take time to let that soak in deep, I realize that is a pretty incredible invitation. Here Jesus has asked us to participate with Him in bringing His Kingdom, to pray His Kingdom come. Prayer can seem like a powerless and dumb thing to do to those who do not believe. However, the truth is that prayer is participating with God. Prayer is raising a battle against the kingdom of darkness and it is bringing forth the Kingdom of God!
Can we dare to pray like praying matters? Can we dare to pray as Jesus has asked us to? Can we dare to allow His Kingdom to come when He asks us to take it into dark places?
