The Complete Jewish Bible that I have been using lately puts it “May your kingdom come”. This short phrase takes my mind to Nehemiah’s prayer – but I will explain why later.

Let’s start by considering what Jesus’ contemporaries would likely have understood by this prayer. The Tanakh (Old Testament) contains many references to a Messiah / Anointed One for the Israelites, together with His Kingdom. They would have been familiar with such scriptures as:

• “There is a coming king who will reign justly” (Isa 32:1-2). Rabbi Barry Rubin in his commentary about this passage notes that Isaiah was speaking at the time when the righteous King Hezekiah was already on the throne. Therefore, Isaiah must have been speaking of the future, eternal reign of the King Messiah.
  
• “Afterwards, the people of Israel will repent and seek Adonai their God and David their king…in the acharit-hayamim [literally, ‘the end of the days’]” (Hos 3:5).
  
• “Look! Your king is coming to you” (Zech 9:9).
  
• And “You will have sons to succeed your ancestors” (Ps 45:17) points to God’s guarantee that the royal line of David will continue.

The question that Jesus’ disciples were asking regarding this future Messianic Kingdom was not its chances of happening, but when and how it would come about.

Local and Global, Now and Not Yet

In the light of this, what was Jesus intent upon explaining about the coming Kingdom?

• “The kingdom of God is among you” (Luke 17:21).
  
• “The kingdom of Heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field…is like a mustard seed which a man takes and sows in his field…is like yeast that a woman took and mixed with a bushel of flour” (Matt 13).

With these parables Jesus turned the expectations of the Kingdom from a local battle to regain the land of Israel into a worldwide battle between the people of God’s Kingdom and the forces and followers of the Adversary.

In John 18:36, Jesus makes it clear in his conversation with Pilate that “My kingship does not derive its authority from the world’s order of things. If it did, my men would have fought to keep me from being arrested by the Judeans. But my kingship does not come from here.”

So what is Jesus actually telling us to pray for in this short phrase “May your kingdom come”? My own understanding is that He wants us to pray both in accordance with the Old Testament for the coming Messianic Kingdom, when Jesus will rule the world from Jerusalem, and also as the New Testament guides, that His Kingdom will grow here and now as we take the Good News to the world.

Nehemiah’s Prayer

But why does this short phrase lead my thoughts to Nehemiah’s prayer? I believe that The Lord’s Prayer should be taken as a simple memorandum for the subject matter of our prayers. It is for each of us, through growing understanding of our God, to add the flesh of understanding to our prayers.

So consider here with me, from Nehemiah 1, part of the heart-rending prayer of a man as he longed for the revival of the kingdom of Israel. I hear in Nehemiah’s prayer a humble passion mixed with a determination that this prayer should be both heard and answered by Adonai. This is what I mean by adding the flesh of understanding to the simple phrase “Thy kingdom come”:

…I sat down and wept; I mourned for several days, fasting and praying before the God of heaven. I said, “Please Adonai! God of heaven! You great and fearsome God, who keeps his covenant and extends grace to those who love him and observe his mitzvot! Let your ear now be attentive and your eyes be open, so that you will listen to the prayer of your servant, which I am praying before you these days, day and night, for the people of Israel your servants – even as I confess the sins of the people of Israel that we have committed against you.

Yes, I and my father’s house have sinned. We have deeply offended you. We haven’t observed your mitzvot, laws or rulings you ordered your servant Moshe, “If you break faith, I will scatter you among the peoples; but if you return to me, observe my mitzvot and obey them, then, even if your scattered ones are in the most distant part of heaven, nevertheless, I will collect them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen for bearing my name.”

Now these are your servants, your people, whom you have redeemed by your great power and strong hand. Adonai, please, let your ear now be attentive to the prayer of your servant and to the prayer of your servants who take joy in fearing your name…

At this point in the prayer may I take liberty (as someone grafted into the olive tree of Israel) and add, knowing from the continued fulfilment of prophecy that the time of Jesus’ return is drawing close, “Heavenly Father, may your kingdom come!” My personal experiences show me that such a prayer, uttered with heartfelt determination and sincerity, will be both heard and acted upon by our Father God!

Author: John Quinlan