Search for God With Your HEART AND MIND - "Let Your Kingdom Come"

"Let Your Kingdom Come"

After praying for God's name to be sanctified, Jesus said:  "Let your kingdom come. Let your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."  (Matthew 6:10) Concerning that passage, we may ask:  "What is God's Kingdom? And what does its coming have to do with God's will being done on earth?

In the Bible, the word "kingdom" basically means a "rulership by a king."  Logically, then, God's Kingdom would refer to a rulership, or government, by God, with a king of his choosing.  This King is none other than the resurrected Jesus Christ-the  "King of Kings and Lord of lords."  (Revelation 19:16; Daniel 7:13, 14) Concerning God's Messianic Kingdom in the hands of Jesus Christ, the prophet Daniel wrote:  "In the days of those kings [human governments now ruling] the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be brought to ruin.  And the kingdom itself will not be passed on to any other people.  It will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, and it itself will stand to times indefinite,"  that is, forever. -Daniel 2:44.

Yes, God's Kingdom will take complete control of the earth, ridding it of all the wicked and ruling "to times indefinite," that is, forever.  In this way, God's Kingdom is the means by which Jehovah sanctifies his name, clearing it of all the lying reproach of Satan and wicked humans. -Ezekiel 36:23. 

Like all governments, God's Kingdom has subjects.  Who are these?  The Bible answers:  "The meek ones themselves will possess the earth, and they will indeed find their exquisite delight in the abundance of peace."  (Psalm 37:11) Similarly, Jesus said:  "Happy are the mild-tempered ones, since they will inherit the earth."   Of course, these ones have accurate knowledge of God, which is a requirement for life. -Matthew 5:5; John 17:3.

Can you imagine the whole earth filled with meek, mild-tempered people who truly love God and love one another?  (1 John 4:7, 8)  That is what Jesus prayed for when he said:  "Let your kingdom come. Let your will be done on earth as it is in heaven."  Do you appreciate why Jesus taught his followers to pray that way?  More important, do you see how that prayer's fulfillment may affect you personally?

Next time: Search for God With Your HEART AND MIND - Millions are Now Reasoning on the Scriptures

The Watchtower, 2002