The Lord’s prayer begins and ends with praise. Everything in between is a petition. When we are submitted to God’s will and dominion in our lives, He wants us to ask for everything we need. The last study was on the first line of the Lord’s prayer: “Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. This study is on: “Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.” This phrase begins the “petitions” in the Lord’s prayer.
God Wants Us To Ask
The disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray and this is what He said so it’s not selfish to ask.
John 14:13 – “And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. (Verse 14) “If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.”
John 15:7 – “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.
John 16:23, 24 – “And in that day you will ask Me nothing. Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you. (Verse 24) “Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.
Matthew 6:8 – “Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask HIim.
Matthew 7:7 – “Ask and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. (Verse 8) “For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. (Verse 9) “Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? (Verse 10) “Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? (Verse 11) “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!”
I don’t know where the myth that when we ask, that we are being selfish came from, but that’s exactly what a lot of people think. Maybe it came from some pastors telling us that we can only ask for our necessities, but don’t ask for what we want. However, we just read in John 15:7 that if we abide in Him and His words abide in us, then ask what we desire and it shall be done for us.
But there is a “filter” to the things we ask for in Matthew 6:10 – “Your will be done.” We are asking for His kingdom to come, not ours. We are asking for His will to be done, not ours.
1 John 5:15 – And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.
Psalm 20:5 – We will rejoice in Your salvation, and in the name of our God we will set up our banners! May the Lord fulfill all your petitions.
The Lord’s prayer is divided into two sections: The Lord’s prayer is focused on God and then us. It starts with God and ends with God, but the middle is us. However, verse 10 is still about God. “Thy kingdom come.”
Here’s how we know that we can have the petitions we ask for; If we focus on God, He will actually change our desires. And then all of a sudden, we begin to desire what He desires! “Thy” comes before “us.” We establish that’s it’s about You, God, before us.
His Kingdom Is Here
“Thy kingdom come” can be confusing, because it seems like we are praying for a future kingdom. That is not what this means, as many have thought.
Matthew 4:17 – From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
Mark 1:14 – Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, (Verse 15) and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe the gospel.”
Matthew 12:28 – “But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you.
Matthew 10:7 – “And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
So, how could He tell the disciples to preach the kingdom is here if the kingdom wasn’t there? And how could Jesus say, “The time is fulfilled, the kingdom is at hand,” if it was not there, here?
Jesus said the kingdom was at hand because the King was among them. The King had come. Kingdom – King and dominion, the Kings Dominion. The Kings Dominion is where the King rules.
Back to the Lord’s prayer: If the kingdom has come, why did Jesu tell us to pray, “Thy kingdom come?” The kingdom is here but is it in you or me? That’s the same as Salvation is available to all, but have you received? The kingdom is available, but is it in you? Have you received?
Luke 17:20 – Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom would come, He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God does not come with observation; (Verse 21) “nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed the kingdom of God is within you.”
The word “come” in the Lord’s prayer means “continue,” continue to come within us. It’s progressive! “Thy kingdom come means “past” and continuing. The kingdom of God has come, but it’s continuing to come.
When we got saved, we gave the king dominion in our lives, but is He still King today in our life? Does the King have dominion in your life? Us, we, are the King’s dominion, within us. If I’m totally submitted to the King, He has dominion in me! By the word “come” meaning progressive, it means the kingdom is continuing to grow in my life.
The longer we walk with the Lord, the more we become concerned about the “Kingdom of God.”
His Will Is Best
Acts 13:36 – For David after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell asleep, was buried with his fathers, and saw corruption;
David served for his generation the will of God. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 – in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
We know that we are supposed to do the will of God, but how do we do it? Here’s the key: John 7:17 – “If anyone wants to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority.”
If I will to do His will, I will understand the things Jesus said and I’m going to understand the doctrine. But it has to be my will to do His will. That’s why we pray, “Thy will be done.” Our knowledge does not compare to His knowledge in any situation. And we submit our will to His.
Luke 22:42 – saying, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours be done.”
If Jesus prayed for the Father’s will to be done, shouldn’t we? Then we pray, “In earth as it is in heaven.” And here is how it is in heaven: Revelation 21:4 – “And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying; and there shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”
In heaven, there is no more death, but even now, here on earth, the “sting” of death is gone for the believer. Even though we go through suffering while on this earth, the King still has dominion!
God’s Will Is Always Best
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven!
biblefrombeginningtoend 