Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
To pray for the kingdom to come is to ask the Father to bring heaven's rule into the heart with Christ enthroned within by the Holy Spirit, embracing both grace at work now and glory to come, not an earthly political deliverance or worldly greatness. It asks that evil's reign will end and sin be destroyed forever, so God's good purpose is fulfilled and His will is done on earth as fully and perfectly as it is obeyed in heaven. God's will so prayed for is expressed in the principles of His holy law, and doing it is the highest joyful service as children united with Him, requiring perfect obedience and keeping personal will in subjection to the Father's counsel rather than human desire. The prayer must be matched by action in life, for human cooperation advances the kingdom while mere saying without doing makes it fruitless, calling for self dethroned, daily dependence on Christ, and lives that show how God's will is done in heaven. So praying lays the gospel commission on those who pray to carry the message to neglected places and throughout the world, which hastens His coming, and the full answer will surely come when Christ returns and the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of the Lord and of His Christ.
Prayer Setting and Form
This petition belongs to the Sermon on the Mount, spoken especially for the disciples while the assembled multitude also listened. It was given on a level place on the mountainside after people from many regions had gathered to hear and be healed. There the teaching was plain, in words ordinary people could understand, expressing the prayer for God's kingdom and will to be realized on earth as in heaven. It was given with divine authority and in language so simple that even a child can study it without being misled. It sets forth the far-reaching principles of God's law that must reach the heart, since the heart's condition regulates life and character.
It belongs to the model or sample prayer given after cautioning against using vain repetitions in prayer. It was given in kindness and mercy to help human infirmity and to teach how to avoid imitating the prayers of the Pharisees. It was given in answer to the request to be taught to pray as John taught his disciples. The disciples were deeply moved by watching Christ absorbed in aloud supplication and by His habit of communion with God when they asked, Lord, teach us to pray. He first gave it in the sermon on the mount and later repeated it, illustrating it with the parable of the friend asking for three loaves at midnight.
The prayer is short, simple, clear, brief and comprehensive, with no useless words. Its truth, though short and simple, when understood embraces all that is essential for salvation. It frames into words what comprehends every human need, expressing desires for temporal and spiritual blessings with gratitude for them. It embraces everything, asks for God's kingdom to come and His will to be done on earth as in heaven, and even this petition alone when offered sincerely is heart-service to God. It exalts God as all, the beginning and the end, and expresses human dependence and weakness rather than listing good deeds or praising self. It presents God as Father whose paternal love restores confidence in His character, and teaches that petitions should include neighbors as brothers and sisters and not seek blessings for self alone.
Its words have deep meaning, asking for God's kingdom to come and His will to be done on earth as in heaven. Jesus repeated what He had already taught to show that it has a depth of meaning not yet grasped. It is full of meaning, to be prayed each day, embracing everything for the inhabitants of the earth including help in suffering and sleepless trouble. Offered simply and with genuine faith it brings blessing and peace. Praying it brings God's help, relief and mercy, and gives reason for thankfulness, praise, dependence and trust in Him.
It is not to be repeated as a mere form by rote, but to be taught and understood, prayed with understanding and a sense of need. It is to be prayed by all the churches, studied and lived, and those who do so will win a crown of life everlasting. Its truth is to be not only repeated and kept before the people but obeyed implicitly. It is to be repeated daily with an open heart to Christ's grace and power, for when people feel their need and pray, the Author of the prayer hears them. Even if no more words are spoken, offering it in sincerity with heart and mind and soul keeps from asking amiss and gives peace to go forth to work. So offered it gives peace and assurance to go forth with Jesus as Helper and rich grace for the day, and it remains valuable to followers in the last days.
It serves as the model for closing personal petitions after presenting special private prayer, comprehending in its few words all personal needs. It is to be offered daily and then lived out during the day, for practicing its principles lies at the foundation of all right action. Its daily repetition in the family circle becomes a blessing, and living it brings close contact with Christ and His living power with heaven's agencies working on behalf of those who pray. It is safe to offer at all times and in all places, asking for God's kingdom to come and His will to be done on earth as in heaven, which means choosing God's will rather than following one's own desires. The assurance that petitions will be heard applies to those who pray it.
It is the pattern for public and social prayer, which is to edify all who hear. Such prayer is to be simple, clear, comprehensive, brief and full of life and power, rather than long, tedious, spiritless and faithless. It is more acceptable than long prayers offered to be heard and praised by men, and stands contrasted with prayers offered publicly to gain praise from people. It is a model rather than a form to repeat merely by rote, showing that prayer should be simple, earnest and comprehensive. Long prayers laying out the full burden of the heart belong in the private closet, where one comes in soul need and tells God plainly as a child tells a parent, while every soul still has the privilege of stating special necessities and offering individual thanksgiving for daily blessings. Living out the sermon's lessons makes a deeper and more lasting impression than sermons from the pulpit.
In its order the hallowing of God's name with the coming of His kingdom and the doing of His will come before requests for personal needs. It asks for daily bread, for forgiveness as those who pray forgive their debtors, and for leading away from temptation and deliverance from evil, ending with praise for God's everlasting kingdom, power and glory. Praying it requires freely and fully forgiving a brother who confesses his wrong and treating him as if the wrong had never been done. It requires never looking indifferently on a humbled confessing soul, but taking the repenting one back with rejoicing and never uniting with the enemy to discourage him or setting oneself as his judge. Pardon and forgiveness are received as people pardon and forgive others.
Kingdom Come Meaning
To pray for the kingdom to come is to ask the Father to bring the kingdom of heaven into the heart, with Christ enthroned within as the source of all power and supremacy through His abiding presence by the Holy Spirit. It is looking to God in faith for leading and strength and inspiration, so that His will is done on earth as in heaven, which requires receiving an abundance of grace from Christ day by day, hour by hour. It is a prayer for the kingdom of God to be enthroned in the heart by Christ abiding there through His Spirit.
The kingdom prayed for includes both the kingdom of grace now at work and the future kingdom of glory. It is not merely the kingdom of grace already among God's people, nor an earthly kingdom freeing Israel from political bondage and restoring its former glory, nor worldly greatness. It is the kingdom of divine grace governed by the principles set out in the Beatitudes, with right conceptions of its nature and of Christ's character and the conditions for entering it. The kingdom of glory was not to be established immediately in the disciples' day, but by telling them to pray for it Christ assured them it will surely come in God's own time.
God is both the loving Father who cares for His children and the great King of the universe, so the interests of His kingdom are the interests of those who pray, who are to work to build it up and sincerely give self to His service. Praying for the kingdom means deciding whose subject one truly is, dethroning self and the selfish spirit so self is no longer a controlling power, and bringing words and actions into harmony with professed principles as a member of the royal family and child of the heavenly King. The kingdom of grace is established now as sinful rebellious hearts yield to God's loving rule, and receiving the Spirit of Christ in answer makes every follower fulfill a divinely appointed mission as a special influence for God.
Praying for the kingdom to be enthroned in the heart is a pledge under the baptismal covenant made in the presence of Christ and the Holy Spirit to live as risen with Christ, seeking things above, dead with life hid in Christ. It means putting off fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil desire, covetousness which is idolatry, anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy speech and lying. It is nullified by professing to be a saint while working as a sinner, acting as sinners act when convenient to gain advantage at a neighbor's disadvantage, and lying against professed truth. It is prayed most earnestly when a selfish spirit keeps one out of Christ's service, asking for the Holy Spirit to be put within the heart to keep the baptismal vow sincerely, for Christ's intercession not to be in vain, for unbelief and perverted will no longer to bear witness against the truth while claiming God's service, and for power to demonstrate death to sin, life hid with Christ in God, and bearing of the fruits of the Spirit.
The petition for God's will to be done is a prayer that evil's reign will end, sin will be destroyed forever, and the kingdom of righteousness will be established so God's good purpose is fulfilled on earth as in heaven. The petition has a depth and breadth that must be taken in and realized, and the coming of Christ's kingdom is certain and calls for labor to bring it about. When those who know the prayer grasp its meaning, the church becomes what God desires, the light of the world, with less desire for form and ceremony and more planting in the heart the principles that sanctify character.
God's Will Meaning
God's will is perfectly obeyed in heaven, while rebellion and conflict mark the earth, and those who refuse to submit their own will cannot sincerely or intelligently pray for His will to be done, so every true follower should ask God to bring everything in the world into conformity with His will. That will is expressed in the precepts of His holy law, whose principles belong to heaven, and doing it is the highest service. It is not legalistic drudgery, for love makes obedience joyful and those who serve do so as children in unity with Him, and when Christ dwells within, the person delights to do His will with God's law in the heart.
His plainly revealed will requires perfect obedience to His commandments, and because His requirements are always reasonable and just He cannot accept less. Failure to walk in given light separates from God, with darkness coming in the same proportion as light was allowed to shine on the pathway. Had His chosen people obeyed through patriarch and prophet they would have exhibited elevated character and works in harmony with the accumulated light upon their pathway. Praying for His will to be done therefore means choosing God's will rather than following one's own desires. It means the work is to be governed not by human will or prudence but by the heavenly Father's counsel, rather than one's own or other people's wishes, and no one can stop it if it is of God.
That submission keeps personal will in subjection to God's will in all things including marriage choices, and trusts His will even in sickness, uncertainty and persecution. So applied, it accepts God's will even facing execution rather than denying Christ and the truth, as when Ridley so prayed, and it submits in sickness while still hoping life may be spared to continue helping in the work. This submission joins full surrender with urgent pleading like Jacob wrestling, for in distress the faithful plead for escape if it will glorify God, yet accept that they must endure the suffering appointed before God's purpose is fulfilled. In darkness, confusion and death decrees in the last days, they deeply sense unworthiness yet stand approved trusting in Him, crying earnestly day and night for a way of escape and deliverance that will glorify His name, accepting that fulfillment of His will requires first drinking of the cup and being baptized with the baptism of suffering before rescue comes.
Future Glorious Fulfillment
The petition has risen from contrite hearts through the ages and will surely be answered when the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of the Lord and of His Christ. Its words will surely be fulfilled, and this is certain, for Christ would not have taught His followers to pray for what could not come to pass. The prayer is to be offered by every soul and to be answered in the life, and its fulfillment is possible. Its petition has a depth and breadth that must be taken in and realized, and when those who know it grasp its meaning the church becomes the light of the world, with less desire for form and ceremony and more planting of sanctifying principles in the heart.
The full answer comes in the future, after the battle has been fought, the conflict is over and the victory is won. At present the church is still militant in a world in midnight darkness almost wholly given over to idolatry. Then the will of God will be done on earth as fully as it is done in heaven, Christ's victory will be complete, and the earth will be brought into harmony with heaven.
In that fulfillment God's kingdom is established as a kingdom of peace, joy and everlasting righteousness, receiving Christ as King, with His commandment-keeping people triumphing. The nations of the saved will own no other law than heaven's law. Humanity will be a happy, united family, clothed with praise and thanksgiving and the robe of Christ's righteousness. Earth and nature renewed in surpassing loveliness will offer constant praise and adoration.
Then sin and death will be no more. The world will be bathed in heavenly light, with the light of the moon as the light of the sun and the light of the sun sevenfold greater, and the years will move on in gladness. The morning stars will sing together and the sons of God will shout for joy, while God and Christ unite in proclaiming that there shall be no more sin and no more death.
Personal Obedience Required
To pray for the kingdom to come and for the will of God to be done on earth as in heaven is to take up a work and do all possible to answer the prayer, for human faithfulness and cooperation advance the kingdom while unfaithfulness, failure to cooperate, and mere saying without doing hinder it and make petitions fruitless. Those purchased by the blood of Christ for a life of service and spiritual growth are bound by the prayer to infinite love, with asking strengthening faith in receiving, and its words will surely be fulfilled. Merely repeating the words while failing to act upon them in life manifests lack of love for the cause of Christ and reveals a death-like slumber and failure to cooperate with the divine.
Living in answer to the prayer brings a serious sense of responsibility that puts away selfishness, slothfulness, idleness and indifference and resists the efforts of Satan to defeat the purpose of Christ. It calls for keeping the baptismal pledge to break with Satan and devote heart and mind and soul to extending the kingdom. So lived, the prayer brings close contact with Christ so that at every step His living power is touched and heaven's all-powerful agencies work on behalf of those who pray.
The verse sets the height Christians are to reach through steady progress and continual advancement in doing the will of God on earth. Treating others as one wishes to be treated gives evidence of a converted world and is the foundation for Christian life and progress toward heaven. Through the Holy Spirit believers may reach the highest standard with earthly influences becoming divine, and fulfillment in life is possible or the prayer would not have been taught to be offered by every soul.
Doing the will of God on earth as in heaven is the lifework of the Christian as a subject of the kingdom of Christ, yoked with Him in entire dependence, denying self and taking up the cross to follow Him and learning daily how to carry out His instruction more acceptably. Those who seek for it to be done live pure sanctified lives that demonstrate to the world how it is done in heaven, regarding duty toward members of the family of God with sacred awe. By conversion and transformation they receive the character and mind of Christ, with the perfection of the mind and will of God as the standard, and become living witnesses and an example of what it means to be a Christian and what humanity may become.
The prayer is fulfilled in the lives of the people of God when amid earthly strife and discord they renew on earth the harmony of heaven. When the church is reformed, believers pray it together in spiritual harmony as the Holy Spirit removes discord and brings them into agreement. Christian homes and family life are to follow the methods revealed in the Word of God and represent as nearly as possible the home above by living under the laws of the kingdom, sanctified through the truth as a witness to the world, with each one offering self and children to God to honor Him, gain power to obey, know His will and let His purpose be fulfilled, and its daily repetition in the family circle with work to preserve unity becomes a blessing.
Praying the words requires answering them by keeping the human will in subjection to the will of God so that unsanctified desires and ambitious devisings do not become a controlling power. It requires receiving the Holy Spirit as a welcome Guest into the soul temple so that the will and purposes of Christ are worked out in and through the life to the glory of God, and carrying out in word and deed the expressed will of One who cannot err or make a mistake. It is not fulfilled by consulting fallible minds or depending on often unsanctified and perverse human judgment, but by great soul hunger for the Holy Spirit working through human agents with intense love for everyone for whom Christ died and earnest work to bring a harvest of souls into the heavenly garner with the same desire to save sinners that animated Christ as a missionary sent of God. Those who so cooperate with heavenly intelligences in entire surrender have the Master take possession of the mind and use it to fulfill His will, which is the higher education every Christian should most earnestly strive to obtain.
The will of God is done on earth through people united with Christ, abiding in Him and wearing His yoke, who correctly represent His character in work and conduct. Every professed steward is required to give a true representation because the cause matters greatly to Him, and only those who walk carefully before Him are counted qualified for stewardship. He works with those who properly reveal Him to accomplish His will, molds and fashions character after the divine order, and through sanctified cooperation as laborers together with Him as His husbandry and building every person can form a life character accepted in the heavenly kingdom.
The verse means the will of the unrenewed unsanctified nature no longer exercises a ruling kingly power and the leaven of unrighteousness is removed, so that professing Christians who in life lie against the truth no longer leaven the whole church and prevent the divine will from being carried out. It rebukes strife for place and position and reaching for honor and recognition, hasty temper, cruel speech, unkind thought, and exalting one person while condemning another. It directs ambition to honor Christ at every step, to speak right words that bless and encourage and reveal the fruits of righteousness, to learn contentment, and to make the greatest desire to work contentedly in just the place assigned where He can look with approval rather than pushing aside a fellow worker to make room for personal plans.
The prayer is to be repeated and then answered by striving to live it in daily conduct, consecrating body and soul and spirit to the service of God as His property and proprietor of the universe to whom every man, woman and child with all time and talents belongs for constant service without consulting personal pleasure as the governing impulse. Those consecrated do the will of the heavenly Father continually in daily work and service, with obedience to the commandments bringing the heart into harmony with His works and awakening daily gratitude, and with felt need to be often with God in prayer for heavenly wisdom and special grace now more than ever. So striving closes the windows of the soul earthward and opens them heavenward to the Sun of Righteousness, cleanses the defiled rooms of the soul temple, refreshes the memory with Bible principles, keeps the mind clear and pure to distinguish between good and evil, and brings the Holy Spirit to renew mind and heart and give strength to carry out high and holy purposes.
The verse calls for a life that reveals the invisible Father as Christ clothed with humanity did in His revealing work that made the meaning of the prayer plain. Those who pray it are to take the same mission given to Christ and do work identical with what He did, disentangled from all worldly policy and conniving and pursuing uncorrupted principles from hearts filled with love for the truth so as continually to represent Christ in character as Christ represented the Father. Following His example, including in medical missionary work, shows credentials from above and that as representatives of the kingdom of heaven united with Christ in God they are bringing that kingdom, for as God chose His Son to be His representative, Christ has chosen believers to represent His character.
The purpose of education is to glorify God by answering the prayer, enabling men and women to live out the principles of heaven on earth, with teachers acting as His helping hand to bring those principles, the ABC of true education, into the work of educating, training and disciplining youth to the high standard of excellence He calls them to. For schools and health institutions and publishing houses, doing His will as the angels do it in heaven means recognizing Christ as head of all working forces, being cleansed from every common worldly practice, and putting away show and pretense and exhibitions. It means not clinging to old customs or copying methods of older established schools but following His methods, purpose and plans for training workers to advance missionary work and the third angel's message, preparing for the higher school in the courts above, putting away many things now thought necessary, for failure has retarded the work and left years passing into eternity with small results while obedience would bring noble results.
The holy standard set for those who ask for the kingdom to come is to love God with the whole heart and love neighbor as He requires. It forbids benumbing sensibility, mingling human wisdom with the divine, confusing minds about right and holy methods in business, diverting mission means to ambitious designs, and unjustly acquiring means at another's expense to please lust for gain and power. Those who do these things have not yet learned the holy law given upon the Mount and its explanation, and the verse calls them to repent and be converted, to do works worthy of the name Christian, and to receive a cleansing and purging of the soul temple. Faithful payment of tithe so the gospel work can advance, and stewardship that gives a true representation by walking carefully before Him, are ways of doing the will of God on earth.
Fulfilling the prayer means living in obedience to God rather than letting the unrenewed nature rule or carrying out the plans of Satan, so that Christlike character and work represent the kingdom of heaven and help prevent unrighteousness spreading through the church. It means imitating Christ rather than acting from selfishness or neglecting appointed duties. Present conduct tests fitness for future life, for stirring up strife and wounding souls shows one is not acting as His child or is unfit for the kingdom, while Scripture abiding within helps overcome evil and grow into Christ.
Faithful earthly workers performing duties as the service of God are linked with the holy beings who do His will in heaven, with heaven actively preparing a people for the day of the Lord through transforming grace that restores and equips for making Jesus known. It means doing the will of God on earth as verily and unitedly and devotedly as angels do the work appointed them, in fellowship with angels who urge this cooperation and stand ready to join divine power with human effort to draw souls to Jesus to recover them through the infinite gift made for redemption. Angels survey the ground occupied by individual members and sorrow over lost souls when men and women neglect or bungle their appointed work and Satan gains advantage, for angels cannot take the human place or discharge the human duty and eternal welfare depends on the use made of entrusted talents, intellect and reason, calling for practical unselfish ministry bringing relief to the oppressed and distressed.
Doing the will of God on earth as in heaven means carrying out the reforms Christ came to establish that uphold truth and righteousness to draw all people to Him. Those who work to live by godly principles should persevere courageously despite opposition and persecution.
Mission to Advance Kingdom
To pray for the kingdom to come and for the will of God to be done on earth as in heaven lays responsibility on those who pray to do their part in answering the prayer by fulfilling the commission given to the disciples, which still applies today, carrying the message of truth to neglected cities and fields in America and to needy communities at home as well as distant lands and foreigners nearby, sharing present truth, sending workers into new fields, and establishing missionary communities from place to place. To repeat the prayer while leaving that gospel work almost untouched is terrible neglect, spiritual blindness and inconsistency that needs forgiveness, for the prayer is contradicted when interest stays with the enemy and the very means by which God would establish His kingdom are rejected. Resources should support reaching places that have not yet heard rather than being absorbed in unnecessary building where facilities are already plentiful.
Those who pray are to press with men and means into the cities of America scarcely touched, especially the Southern field, with united self-sacrificing effort instead of neglecting the work through blindness and unwillingness to unite with and support those laboring there, and instead of tearing down what others are building. Their use of means and labor should match the request by supporting His work rather than pride, display or selfish interests, and those who manage funds are to work with Christ toward establishing His rule by directing resources to the greatest needs.
The gospel must be preached throughout the world before the end comes, and holding up Christ as the Lamb who takes away sin hastens His coming. The kingdom of grace is established now as sinful rebellious hearts yield to loving rule and as obedience establishes the kingdom in the heart, while the kingdom of glory will be fully established at the return of Christ and will not come until the good news of grace has been preached everywhere, with missionary work that turns people from darkness to God hastening its coming. God is King and His people are His subjects, and by obeying His law they cooperate with Him in answering the prayer and in enlarging His church while proclaiming that His kingdom is at hand.
The prayer is answered on earth when the kingdom is preached in the world by converted, sanctified, holy men and women bearing bold decided testimony by pen and voice, proclaiming the message of warning and the glad tidings of salvation in place after place. This fulfills the purpose in granting probation to work out character like the character of Christ, showing that though surrounded by moral darkness and though sinful and erring, man as the object of love and compassion can carry out the divine purpose through power given to those who receive Christ to become sons of God. The earth is to be the battlefield, the scene of the final contest and final victory where rebellion is forever suppressed, and all heaven is in activity to bring this about with angels waiting to cooperate with those who devise plans to reach souls for whom Christ died.
Answering the prayer means wanting the saving work to go forward as the supreme work and cooperating with it through human effort joined with divine power. It requires counting all things loss to win Christ, having eyes opened to see things as they really are and the true nature of worldly selfish enjoyments, turning from earthly attractions and selfish enjoyments to the heavenly, and giving up what was held dear.
Those united with Christ become earnest self-sacrificing workers who prepare the way for the coming of the Lord. Everyone who claims to know God is to pray for enlargement of the kingdom while doing his utmost to win souls, working in harmony with the prayer in entire consecration and unity as a self-denying laborer together with God according to ability, with each angel at his post combining divine power with human effort to make of none effect the opposition of foes and to make a place to walk even among principalities and powers, beating back spiritual wickedness in high places. The missionary spirit helps grasp the meaning of the prayer by broadening thoughts and joining believers with those who understand the expanding influence of the Spirit, calling them to take part in bringing divine purposes to the world.
The prayer is to be matched by lives of faith and love, including the unity of believers, so that the world may believe. It calls believers to help lead others to God and to live and work in ways that carry His purposes forward, spreading the truth, sending workers into new fields, proclaiming truth from place to place, and establishing missionary communities. By obeying His law as subjects of the King, they cooperate with Him so His kingdom is established in their hearts while they work to enlarge His church.
Doing the will of God on earth as in heaven makes the conversion of souls the one object and puts every facility for the advancement of the cause into use, refusing irreligious indifference and taking advantage of means provided for carrying forward medical missionary work. There is not one moment to spare for idle speculation, but a clear decided message is to be proclaimed to make paths straight amid confusion, with a decided awakening in proportion to the importance of present subjects, meeting the introduction of every form of error to lead souls away from the work to be accomplished. This includes sanitariums and work to interest people in health of body as well as health of soul, relieving suffering, restoring health, and leading infidels and the sick to look to Christ as the great Healer of soul and body, with the great questions of Bible truth entering society to reform and convert. Beginning at once in cities however humble the sphere, and bringing soul-saving into ordinary shop, farm and office work that builds character for eternity, fulfills the prayer.
The coming of the kingdom and the doing of the will of God on earth are opposed by satanic agencies as a living persevering power working to bar the way. The opposition advances while the church sleeps and sows tares, while members refuse to shine and leave the world unlightened, and while selfishness, idleness and self-centeredness prevail among professed Christians, which is the spirit constantly worked to produce in order to stop the kingdom. The prayer is fulfilled as no one remains idle but everyone does the work given by God.
The plan for the will of God to be done on earth as in heaven included the gospel reaching the Gentiles. Although the death of Christ had broken down the barrier between Jews and Gentiles, prejudice still kept Gentiles from the gospel's privileges until the vision given to Peter and the encounter with Cornelius set the plan in motion, with the conversion of Cornelius as the first major conversion among the Gentiles. The vision challenged prejudice and taught that Gentiles cleansed through Christ were not to be treated as unclean or excluded, but share equally with Jews in blessings and privileges and become fellow heirs.
The prayer belongs to instruction on prayer contrasted with prayers offered publicly to gain praise, and to a chapter containing lessons still not yet learned. It teaches that every gift comes from God, that gratitude filling the heart brings a heavenly atmosphere around the soul, that life must be ordered by truth found in the word through more diligent study of the Scriptures, and that the Scriptures must be received not as a make-believe story but as truth of the living God, the foundation of faith and assurance on which hope of eternal life in the kingdom is built. It expresses longing for divine rule and will amid poverty, wickedness and helplessness of those who want to bring light, and expresses the desire of every pure soul, with a special future time of mourning and prayer for the saints.
The sincere prayer of a converted person who loves God supremely and neighbor as self asks for the kingdom to come and the will to be done on earth as in heaven. Servants of God pray it understandingly when the Spirit brings them into unity with the divine will, with the Spirit's intercession expressing longing for the kingdom to come and the will to be done on earth as in heaven. The prayer is to be studied, and bringing its spirit and life into the church is linked with exerting an influence that moves the world.
To pray for the kingdom to come is to ask the Father to bring heaven's rule into the heart with Christ enthroned within by the Holy Spirit, embracing both grace at work now and glory to come, not an earthly political deliverance or worldly greatness. It asks that evil's reign will end and sin be destroyed forever, so God's good purpose is fulfilled and His will is done on earth as fully and perfectly as it is obeyed in heaven. God's will so prayed for is expressed in the principles of His holy law, and doing it is the highest joyful service as children united with Him, requiring perfect obedience and keeping personal will in subjection to the Father's counsel rather than human desire. The prayer must be matched by action in life, for human cooperation advances the kingdom while mere saying without doing makes it fruitless, calling for self dethroned, daily dependence on Christ, and lives that show how God's will is done in heaven. So praying lays the gospel commission on those who pray to carry the message to neglected places and throughout the world, which hastens His coming, and the full answer will surely come when Christ returns and the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of the Lord and of His Christ.
Prayer Setting and Form
This petition belongs to the Sermon on the Mount, spoken especially for the disciples while the assembled multitude also listened. It was given on a level place on the mountainside after people from many regions had gathered to hear and be healed. There the teaching was plain, in words ordinary people could understand, expressing the prayer for God's kingdom and will to be realized on earth as in heaven. It was given with divine authority and in language so simple that even a child can study it without being misled. It sets forth the far-reaching principles of God's law that must reach the heart, since the heart's condition regulates life and character.
It belongs to the model or sample prayer given after cautioning against using vain repetitions in prayer. It was given in kindness and mercy to help human infirmity and to teach how to avoid imitating the prayers of the Pharisees. It was given in answer to the request to be taught to pray as John taught his disciples. The disciples were deeply moved by watching Christ absorbed in aloud supplication and by His habit of communion with God when they asked, Lord, teach us to pray. He first gave it in the sermon on the mount and later repeated it, illustrating it with the parable of the friend asking for three loaves at midnight.
The prayer is short, simple, clear, brief and comprehensive, with no useless words. Its truth, though short and simple, when understood embraces all that is essential for salvation. It frames into words what comprehends every human need, expressing desires for temporal and spiritual blessings with gratitude for them. It embraces everything, asks for God's kingdom to come and His will to be done on earth as in heaven, and even this petition alone when offered sincerely is heart-service to God. It exalts God as all, the beginning and the end, and expresses human dependence and weakness rather than listing good deeds or praising self. It presents God as Father whose paternal love restores confidence in His character, and teaches that petitions should include neighbors as brothers and sisters and not seek blessings for self alone.
Its words have deep meaning, asking for God's kingdom to come and His will to be done on earth as in heaven. Jesus repeated what He had already taught to show that it has a depth of meaning not yet grasped. It is full of meaning, to be prayed each day, embracing everything for the inhabitants of the earth including help in suffering and sleepless trouble. Offered simply and with genuine faith it brings blessing and peace. Praying it brings God's help, relief and mercy, and gives reason for thankfulness, praise, dependence and trust in Him.
It is not to be repeated as a mere form by rote, but to be taught and understood, prayed with understanding and a sense of need. It is to be prayed by all the churches, studied and lived, and those who do so will win a crown of life everlasting. Its truth is to be not only repeated and kept before the people but obeyed implicitly. It is to be repeated daily with an open heart to Christ's grace and power, for when people feel their need and pray, the Author of the prayer hears them. Even if no more words are spoken, offering it in sincerity with heart and mind and soul keeps from asking amiss and gives peace to go forth to work. So offered it gives peace and assurance to go forth with Jesus as Helper and rich grace for the day, and it remains valuable to followers in the last days.
It serves as the model for closing personal petitions after presenting special private prayer, comprehending in its few words all personal needs. It is to be offered daily and then lived out during the day, for practicing its principles lies at the foundation of all right action. Its daily repetition in the family circle becomes a blessing, and living it brings close contact with Christ and His living power with heaven's agencies working on behalf of those who pray. It is safe to offer at all times and in all places, asking for God's kingdom to come and His will to be done on earth as in heaven, which means choosing God's will rather than following one's own desires. The assurance that petitions will be heard applies to those who pray it.
It is the pattern for public and social prayer, which is to edify all who hear. Such prayer is to be simple, clear, comprehensive, brief and full of life and power, rather than long, tedious, spiritless and faithless. It is more acceptable than long prayers offered to be heard and praised by men, and stands contrasted with prayers offered publicly to gain praise from people. It is a model rather than a form to repeat merely by rote, showing that prayer should be simple, earnest and comprehensive. Long prayers laying out the full burden of the heart belong in the private closet, where one comes in soul need and tells God plainly as a child tells a parent, while every soul still has the privilege of stating special necessities and offering individual thanksgiving for daily blessings. Living out the sermon's lessons makes a deeper and more lasting impression than sermons from the pulpit.
In its order the hallowing of God's name with the coming of His kingdom and the doing of His will come before requests for personal needs. It asks for daily bread, for forgiveness as those who pray forgive their debtors, and for leading away from temptation and deliverance from evil, ending with praise for God's everlasting kingdom, power and glory. Praying it requires freely and fully forgiving a brother who confesses his wrong and treating him as if the wrong had never been done. It requires never looking indifferently on a humbled confessing soul, but taking the repenting one back with rejoicing and never uniting with the enemy to discourage him or setting oneself as his judge. Pardon and forgiveness are received as people pardon and forgive others.
Kingdom Come Meaning
To pray for the kingdom to come is to ask the Father to bring the kingdom of heaven into the heart, with Christ enthroned within as the source of all power and supremacy through His abiding presence by the Holy Spirit. It is looking to God in faith for leading and strength and inspiration, so that His will is done on earth as in heaven, which requires receiving an abundance of grace from Christ day by day, hour by hour. It is a prayer for the kingdom of God to be enthroned in the heart by Christ abiding there through His Spirit.
The kingdom prayed for includes both the kingdom of grace now at work and the future kingdom of glory. It is not merely the kingdom of grace already among God's people, nor an earthly kingdom freeing Israel from political bondage and restoring its former glory, nor worldly greatness. It is the kingdom of divine grace governed by the principles set out in the Beatitudes, with right conceptions of its nature and of Christ's character and the conditions for entering it. The kingdom of glory was not to be established immediately in the disciples' day, but by telling them to pray for it Christ assured them it will surely come in God's own time.
God is both the loving Father who cares for His children and the great King of the universe, so the interests of His kingdom are the interests of those who pray, who are to work to build it up and sincerely give self to His service. Praying for the kingdom means deciding whose subject one truly is, dethroning self and the selfish spirit so self is no longer a controlling power, and bringing words and actions into harmony with professed principles as a member of the royal family and child of the heavenly King. The kingdom of grace is established now as sinful rebellious hearts yield to God's loving rule, and receiving the Spirit of Christ in answer makes every follower fulfill a divinely appointed mission as a special influence for God.
Praying for the kingdom to be enthroned in the heart is a pledge under the baptismal covenant made in the presence of Christ and the Holy Spirit to live as risen with Christ, seeking things above, dead with life hid in Christ. It means putting off fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil desire, covetousness which is idolatry, anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy speech and lying. It is nullified by professing to be a saint while working as a sinner, acting as sinners act when convenient to gain advantage at a neighbor's disadvantage, and lying against professed truth. It is prayed most earnestly when a selfish spirit keeps one out of Christ's service, asking for the Holy Spirit to be put within the heart to keep the baptismal vow sincerely, for Christ's intercession not to be in vain, for unbelief and perverted will no longer to bear witness against the truth while claiming God's service, and for power to demonstrate death to sin, life hid with Christ in God, and bearing of the fruits of the Spirit.
The petition for God's will to be done is a prayer that evil's reign will end, sin will be destroyed forever, and the kingdom of righteousness will be established so God's good purpose is fulfilled on earth as in heaven. The petition has a depth and breadth that must be taken in and realized, and the coming of Christ's kingdom is certain and calls for labor to bring it about. When those who know the prayer grasp its meaning, the church becomes what God desires, the light of the world, with less desire for form and ceremony and more planting in the heart the principles that sanctify character.
God's Will Meaning
God's will is perfectly obeyed in heaven, while rebellion and conflict mark the earth, and those who refuse to submit their own will cannot sincerely or intelligently pray for His will to be done, so every true follower should ask God to bring everything in the world into conformity with His will. That will is expressed in the precepts of His holy law, whose principles belong to heaven, and doing it is the highest service. It is not legalistic drudgery, for love makes obedience joyful and those who serve do so as children in unity with Him, and when Christ dwells within, the person delights to do His will with God's law in the heart.
His plainly revealed will requires perfect obedience to His commandments, and because His requirements are always reasonable and just He cannot accept less. Failure to walk in given light separates from God, with darkness coming in the same proportion as light was allowed to shine on the pathway. Had His chosen people obeyed through patriarch and prophet they would have exhibited elevated character and works in harmony with the accumulated light upon their pathway. Praying for His will to be done therefore means choosing God's will rather than following one's own desires. It means the work is to be governed not by human will or prudence but by the heavenly Father's counsel, rather than one's own or other people's wishes, and no one can stop it if it is of God.
That submission keeps personal will in subjection to God's will in all things including marriage choices, and trusts His will even in sickness, uncertainty and persecution. So applied, it accepts God's will even facing execution rather than denying Christ and the truth, as when Ridley so prayed, and it submits in sickness while still hoping life may be spared to continue helping in the work. This submission joins full surrender with urgent pleading like Jacob wrestling, for in distress the faithful plead for escape if it will glorify God, yet accept that they must endure the suffering appointed before God's purpose is fulfilled. In darkness, confusion and death decrees in the last days, they deeply sense unworthiness yet stand approved trusting in Him, crying earnestly day and night for a way of escape and deliverance that will glorify His name, accepting that fulfillment of His will requires first drinking of the cup and being baptized with the baptism of suffering before rescue comes.
Future Glorious Fulfillment
The petition has risen from contrite hearts through the ages and will surely be answered when the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of the Lord and of His Christ. Its words will surely be fulfilled, and this is certain, for Christ would not have taught His followers to pray for what could not come to pass. The prayer is to be offered by every soul and to be answered in the life, and its fulfillment is possible. Its petition has a depth and breadth that must be taken in and realized, and when those who know it grasp its meaning the church becomes the light of the world, with less desire for form and ceremony and more planting of sanctifying principles in the heart.
The full answer comes in the future, after the battle has been fought, the conflict is over and the victory is won. At present the church is still militant in a world in midnight darkness almost wholly given over to idolatry. Then the will of God will be done on earth as fully as it is done in heaven, Christ's victory will be complete, and the earth will be brought into harmony with heaven.
In that fulfillment God's kingdom is established as a kingdom of peace, joy and everlasting righteousness, receiving Christ as King, with His commandment-keeping people triumphing. The nations of the saved will own no other law than heaven's law. Humanity will be a happy, united family, clothed with praise and thanksgiving and the robe of Christ's righteousness. Earth and nature renewed in surpassing loveliness will offer constant praise and adoration.
Then sin and death will be no more. The world will be bathed in heavenly light, with the light of the moon as the light of the sun and the light of the sun sevenfold greater, and the years will move on in gladness. The morning stars will sing together and the sons of God will shout for joy, while God and Christ unite in proclaiming that there shall be no more sin and no more death.
Personal Obedience Required
To pray for the kingdom to come and for the will of God to be done on earth as in heaven is to take up a work and do all possible to answer the prayer, for human faithfulness and cooperation advance the kingdom while unfaithfulness, failure to cooperate, and mere saying without doing hinder it and make petitions fruitless. Those purchased by the blood of Christ for a life of service and spiritual growth are bound by the prayer to infinite love, with asking strengthening faith in receiving, and its words will surely be fulfilled. Merely repeating the words while failing to act upon them in life manifests lack of love for the cause of Christ and reveals a death-like slumber and failure to cooperate with the divine.
Living in answer to the prayer brings a serious sense of responsibility that puts away selfishness, slothfulness, idleness and indifference and resists the efforts of Satan to defeat the purpose of Christ. It calls for keeping the baptismal pledge to break with Satan and devote heart and mind and soul to extending the kingdom. So lived, the prayer brings close contact with Christ so that at every step His living power is touched and heaven's all-powerful agencies work on behalf of those who pray.
The verse sets the height Christians are to reach through steady progress and continual advancement in doing the will of God on earth. Treating others as one wishes to be treated gives evidence of a converted world and is the foundation for Christian life and progress toward heaven. Through the Holy Spirit believers may reach the highest standard with earthly influences becoming divine, and fulfillment in life is possible or the prayer would not have been taught to be offered by every soul.
Doing the will of God on earth as in heaven is the lifework of the Christian as a subject of the kingdom of Christ, yoked with Him in entire dependence, denying self and taking up the cross to follow Him and learning daily how to carry out His instruction more acceptably. Those who seek for it to be done live pure sanctified lives that demonstrate to the world how it is done in heaven, regarding duty toward members of the family of God with sacred awe. By conversion and transformation they receive the character and mind of Christ, with the perfection of the mind and will of God as the standard, and become living witnesses and an example of what it means to be a Christian and what humanity may become.
The prayer is fulfilled in the lives of the people of God when amid earthly strife and discord they renew on earth the harmony of heaven. When the church is reformed, believers pray it together in spiritual harmony as the Holy Spirit removes discord and brings them into agreement. Christian homes and family life are to follow the methods revealed in the Word of God and represent as nearly as possible the home above by living under the laws of the kingdom, sanctified through the truth as a witness to the world, with each one offering self and children to God to honor Him, gain power to obey, know His will and let His purpose be fulfilled, and its daily repetition in the family circle with work to preserve unity becomes a blessing.
Praying the words requires answering them by keeping the human will in subjection to the will of God so that unsanctified desires and ambitious devisings do not become a controlling power. It requires receiving the Holy Spirit as a welcome Guest into the soul temple so that the will and purposes of Christ are worked out in and through the life to the glory of God, and carrying out in word and deed the expressed will of One who cannot err or make a mistake. It is not fulfilled by consulting fallible minds or depending on often unsanctified and perverse human judgment, but by great soul hunger for the Holy Spirit working through human agents with intense love for everyone for whom Christ died and earnest work to bring a harvest of souls into the heavenly garner with the same desire to save sinners that animated Christ as a missionary sent of God. Those who so cooperate with heavenly intelligences in entire surrender have the Master take possession of the mind and use it to fulfill His will, which is the higher education every Christian should most earnestly strive to obtain.
The will of God is done on earth through people united with Christ, abiding in Him and wearing His yoke, who correctly represent His character in work and conduct. Every professed steward is required to give a true representation because the cause matters greatly to Him, and only those who walk carefully before Him are counted qualified for stewardship. He works with those who properly reveal Him to accomplish His will, molds and fashions character after the divine order, and through sanctified cooperation as laborers together with Him as His husbandry and building every person can form a life character accepted in the heavenly kingdom.
The verse means the will of the unrenewed unsanctified nature no longer exercises a ruling kingly power and the leaven of unrighteousness is removed, so that professing Christians who in life lie against the truth no longer leaven the whole church and prevent the divine will from being carried out. It rebukes strife for place and position and reaching for honor and recognition, hasty temper, cruel speech, unkind thought, and exalting one person while condemning another. It directs ambition to honor Christ at every step, to speak right words that bless and encourage and reveal the fruits of righteousness, to learn contentment, and to make the greatest desire to work contentedly in just the place assigned where He can look with approval rather than pushing aside a fellow worker to make room for personal plans.
The prayer is to be repeated and then answered by striving to live it in daily conduct, consecrating body and soul and spirit to the service of God as His property and proprietor of the universe to whom every man, woman and child with all time and talents belongs for constant service without consulting personal pleasure as the governing impulse. Those consecrated do the will of the heavenly Father continually in daily work and service, with obedience to the commandments bringing the heart into harmony with His works and awakening daily gratitude, and with felt need to be often with God in prayer for heavenly wisdom and special grace now more than ever. So striving closes the windows of the soul earthward and opens them heavenward to the Sun of Righteousness, cleanses the defiled rooms of the soul temple, refreshes the memory with Bible principles, keeps the mind clear and pure to distinguish between good and evil, and brings the Holy Spirit to renew mind and heart and give strength to carry out high and holy purposes.
The verse calls for a life that reveals the invisible Father as Christ clothed with humanity did in His revealing work that made the meaning of the prayer plain. Those who pray it are to take the same mission given to Christ and do work identical with what He did, disentangled from all worldly policy and conniving and pursuing uncorrupted principles from hearts filled with love for the truth so as continually to represent Christ in character as Christ represented the Father. Following His example, including in medical missionary work, shows credentials from above and that as representatives of the kingdom of heaven united with Christ in God they are bringing that kingdom, for as God chose His Son to be His representative, Christ has chosen believers to represent His character.
The purpose of education is to glorify God by answering the prayer, enabling men and women to live out the principles of heaven on earth, with teachers acting as His helping hand to bring those principles, the ABC of true education, into the work of educating, training and disciplining youth to the high standard of excellence He calls them to. For schools and health institutions and publishing houses, doing His will as the angels do it in heaven means recognizing Christ as head of all working forces, being cleansed from every common worldly practice, and putting away show and pretense and exhibitions. It means not clinging to old customs or copying methods of older established schools but following His methods, purpose and plans for training workers to advance missionary work and the third angel's message, preparing for the higher school in the courts above, putting away many things now thought necessary, for failure has retarded the work and left years passing into eternity with small results while obedience would bring noble results.
The holy standard set for those who ask for the kingdom to come is to love God with the whole heart and love neighbor as He requires. It forbids benumbing sensibility, mingling human wisdom with the divine, confusing minds about right and holy methods in business, diverting mission means to ambitious designs, and unjustly acquiring means at another's expense to please lust for gain and power. Those who do these things have not yet learned the holy law given upon the Mount and its explanation, and the verse calls them to repent and be converted, to do works worthy of the name Christian, and to receive a cleansing and purging of the soul temple. Faithful payment of tithe so the gospel work can advance, and stewardship that gives a true representation by walking carefully before Him, are ways of doing the will of God on earth.
Fulfilling the prayer means living in obedience to God rather than letting the unrenewed nature rule or carrying out the plans of Satan, so that Christlike character and work represent the kingdom of heaven and help prevent unrighteousness spreading through the church. It means imitating Christ rather than acting from selfishness or neglecting appointed duties. Present conduct tests fitness for future life, for stirring up strife and wounding souls shows one is not acting as His child or is unfit for the kingdom, while Scripture abiding within helps overcome evil and grow into Christ.
Faithful earthly workers performing duties as the service of God are linked with the holy beings who do His will in heaven, with heaven actively preparing a people for the day of the Lord through transforming grace that restores and equips for making Jesus known. It means doing the will of God on earth as verily and unitedly and devotedly as angels do the work appointed them, in fellowship with angels who urge this cooperation and stand ready to join divine power with human effort to draw souls to Jesus to recover them through the infinite gift made for redemption. Angels survey the ground occupied by individual members and sorrow over lost souls when men and women neglect or bungle their appointed work and Satan gains advantage, for angels cannot take the human place or discharge the human duty and eternal welfare depends on the use made of entrusted talents, intellect and reason, calling for practical unselfish ministry bringing relief to the oppressed and distressed.
Doing the will of God on earth as in heaven means carrying out the reforms Christ came to establish that uphold truth and righteousness to draw all people to Him. Those who work to live by godly principles should persevere courageously despite opposition and persecution.
Mission to Advance Kingdom
To pray for the kingdom to come and for the will of God to be done on earth as in heaven lays responsibility on those who pray to do their part in answering the prayer by fulfilling the commission given to the disciples, which still applies today, carrying the message of truth to neglected cities and fields in America and to needy communities at home as well as distant lands and foreigners nearby, sharing present truth, sending workers into new fields, and establishing missionary communities from place to place. To repeat the prayer while leaving that gospel work almost untouched is terrible neglect, spiritual blindness and inconsistency that needs forgiveness, for the prayer is contradicted when interest stays with the enemy and the very means by which God would establish His kingdom are rejected. Resources should support reaching places that have not yet heard rather than being absorbed in unnecessary building where facilities are already plentiful.
Those who pray are to press with men and means into the cities of America scarcely touched, especially the Southern field, with united self-sacrificing effort instead of neglecting the work through blindness and unwillingness to unite with and support those laboring there, and instead of tearing down what others are building. Their use of means and labor should match the request by supporting His work rather than pride, display or selfish interests, and those who manage funds are to work with Christ toward establishing His rule by directing resources to the greatest needs.
The gospel must be preached throughout the world before the end comes, and holding up Christ as the Lamb who takes away sin hastens His coming. The kingdom of grace is established now as sinful rebellious hearts yield to loving rule and as obedience establishes the kingdom in the heart, while the kingdom of glory will be fully established at the return of Christ and will not come until the good news of grace has been preached everywhere, with missionary work that turns people from darkness to God hastening its coming. God is King and His people are His subjects, and by obeying His law they cooperate with Him in answering the prayer and in enlarging His church while proclaiming that His kingdom is at hand.
The prayer is answered on earth when the kingdom is preached in the world by converted, sanctified, holy men and women bearing bold decided testimony by pen and voice, proclaiming the message of warning and the glad tidings of salvation in place after place. This fulfills the purpose in granting probation to work out character like the character of Christ, showing that though surrounded by moral darkness and though sinful and erring, man as the object of love and compassion can carry out the divine purpose through power given to those who receive Christ to become sons of God. The earth is to be the battlefield, the scene of the final contest and final victory where rebellion is forever suppressed, and all heaven is in activity to bring this about with angels waiting to cooperate with those who devise plans to reach souls for whom Christ died.
Answering the prayer means wanting the saving work to go forward as the supreme work and cooperating with it through human effort joined with divine power. It requires counting all things loss to win Christ, having eyes opened to see things as they really are and the true nature of worldly selfish enjoyments, turning from earthly attractions and selfish enjoyments to the heavenly, and giving up what was held dear.
Those united with Christ become earnest self-sacrificing workers who prepare the way for the coming of the Lord. Everyone who claims to know God is to pray for enlargement of the kingdom while doing his utmost to win souls, working in harmony with the prayer in entire consecration and unity as a self-denying laborer together with God according to ability, with each angel at his post combining divine power with human effort to make of none effect the opposition of foes and to make a place to walk even among principalities and powers, beating back spiritual wickedness in high places. The missionary spirit helps grasp the meaning of the prayer by broadening thoughts and joining believers with those who understand the expanding influence of the Spirit, calling them to take part in bringing divine purposes to the world.
The prayer is to be matched by lives of faith and love, including the unity of believers, so that the world may believe. It calls believers to help lead others to God and to live and work in ways that carry His purposes forward, spreading the truth, sending workers into new fields, proclaiming truth from place to place, and establishing missionary communities. By obeying His law as subjects of the King, they cooperate with Him so His kingdom is established in their hearts while they work to enlarge His church.
Doing the will of God on earth as in heaven makes the conversion of souls the one object and puts every facility for the advancement of the cause into use, refusing irreligious indifference and taking advantage of means provided for carrying forward medical missionary work. There is not one moment to spare for idle speculation, but a clear decided message is to be proclaimed to make paths straight amid confusion, with a decided awakening in proportion to the importance of present subjects, meeting the introduction of every form of error to lead souls away from the work to be accomplished. This includes sanitariums and work to interest people in health of body as well as health of soul, relieving suffering, restoring health, and leading infidels and the sick to look to Christ as the great Healer of soul and body, with the great questions of Bible truth entering society to reform and convert. Beginning at once in cities however humble the sphere, and bringing soul-saving into ordinary shop, farm and office work that builds character for eternity, fulfills the prayer.
The coming of the kingdom and the doing of the will of God on earth are opposed by satanic agencies as a living persevering power working to bar the way. The opposition advances while the church sleeps and sows tares, while members refuse to shine and leave the world unlightened, and while selfishness, idleness and self-centeredness prevail among professed Christians, which is the spirit constantly worked to produce in order to stop the kingdom. The prayer is fulfilled as no one remains idle but everyone does the work given by God.
The plan for the will of God to be done on earth as in heaven included the gospel reaching the Gentiles. Although the death of Christ had broken down the barrier between Jews and Gentiles, prejudice still kept Gentiles from the gospel's privileges until the vision given to Peter and the encounter with Cornelius set the plan in motion, with the conversion of Cornelius as the first major conversion among the Gentiles. The vision challenged prejudice and taught that Gentiles cleansed through Christ were not to be treated as unclean or excluded, but share equally with Jews in blessings and privileges and become fellow heirs.
The prayer belongs to instruction on prayer contrasted with prayers offered publicly to gain praise, and to a chapter containing lessons still not yet learned. It teaches that every gift comes from God, that gratitude filling the heart brings a heavenly atmosphere around the soul, that life must be ordered by truth found in the word through more diligent study of the Scriptures, and that the Scriptures must be received not as a make-believe story but as truth of the living God, the foundation of faith and assurance on which hope of eternal life in the kingdom is built. It expresses longing for divine rule and will amid poverty, wickedness and helplessness of those who want to bring light, and expresses the desire of every pure soul, with a special future time of mourning and prayer for the saints.
The sincere prayer of a converted person who loves God supremely and neighbor as self asks for the kingdom to come and the will to be done on earth as in heaven. Servants of God pray it understandingly when the Spirit brings them into unity with the divine will, with the Spirit's intercession expressing longing for the kingdom to come and the will to be done on earth as in heaven. The prayer is to be studied, and bringing its spirit and life into the church is linked with exerting an influence that moves the world.