The Lord's Prayer: The Second Petition

The second petition in the Lord's Prayer is: "Thy kingdom come."

After a thorough study of the scriptures, the Reformers summarized what the second petition means in this way:  "The kingdom of God certainly comes by itself without our prayer, but we pray in this petition that it may come to us also."

It helps to remember that the word "kingdom" is almost always a "verbal noun" in Scripture.  In other words, a "kingdom" is "what a king does" more than just "where a king does it."  The kingdom is the reign of the king.

Of course, when you are talking about the "king of creation" and "lord of the nations," you might wonder how it could possibly happen that His kingdom hasn't already come to you and everyone else?

And that's where we need to recognize that this kingdom is the kingdom of Christ that will never end.  Unbelievers are not a part of this kingdom, unless they are drawn into it by God's gracious calling through the Gospel.  When that happens, His kingdom comes to them.

But the kingdom doesn't just come once (i.e., to a unbeliever); it keeps on coming to those who are in it!  Think about it:  A king doesn't stop reigning in His subjects' lives just because they have become His subjects.  Just the opposite!  So the kingdom keeps coming to those who are in the kingdom.

With that as a backdrop, we can understand the Reformer's follow-up question and answer from the Small Catechism:  "How does God's kingdom come?"  Answer: "God's kingdom comes when our heavenly Father gives us His Holy Spirit, so that by His grace we believe His holy Word and lead godly lives here in time and there in eternity."