I remember when a friend of mine shared with me that her daughter prayed for Yeshua to return again. It initially took me off guard. I had never been taught that, well intentionally anyway. I had never sat and truly prayed for Him to come again simply because I was praying. There were times in sorrow I would cry out for the kingdom but always from a place of individual rescue. That conversation has stuck with me, always stumping me.
But this was in the beginning of our journey of diving into the very foundation of our faith. Before we honored biblical feasts and began understanding the history of the church. A few months ago, our oldest daughter sat up on her bed and in her prayers said, “Yeshua, please come back soon.” This time I heard it. I saw her heart. No direct sorrow covering her heart, it was simply because she knows what His coming back means for this world and she knows what prayer does. It means complete restoration and that is something we all long for in one way or another.
I grew up praying the Lord prayer everyday and often, shoutout to my catholic upbringing, but I never truly understood the gravity of the words I was praying. What Jesus meant when He gave us a blueprint for prayer. I do now. I get it.
The reality is, when Jesus returns, the fullness of the kingdom comes with Him. The complete restoration of this world, where darkness no longer exists. Where we, as believers, get to see the fullness of our Father.
“And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” Revelation 21: 3-5
But that’s not the most beautiful thing to me, right now at least, the most beautiful thing to me is that our Father invited us into relationship with Him to usher in the kingdom. He gave us a way in repentance, in the covering of our Messiah to come into an intimate relationship with Him so that the fullness of the Kingdom would come to pass. We have a part to play when it comes to a new heaven and new earth. We have been saved from sin and saved for the restoration of the kingdom. One of the biggest ways we do this is in prayer. Jesus made that clear.
Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” – Matthew 6:9-10
The very first thing after honoring and blessing our Father in Heaven is longing for the kingdom come. We know that the fullness of the kingdom comes when Jesus returns, when our king returns to reign. Longing and praying for the kingdom in times of sorrow is powerful. God after all, is our rescuer. We long for the kingdom where the world is rescued and no sorrow exists anymore. But there is power in longing for kingdom in the everyday. In coming into relationship with our Father and doing what Jesus said. Praying for the kingdom come. Ushering it in during our everyday prayers which pours out to the way treat others, the way we live our very lives. It’s the starting point to give ours lives to the kingdom come. In these prayers we not only keep our hope directed to our Father but also call on the relationship we have with Him to bring the kingdom come closer and closer each day.
Maybe it’s because Passover is upon us and the gravity of what Jesus did for us is on my heart but I’m longing for the kingdom extra during this time. Longing for Him to come again and see a new heaven and a new earth. So my prayers are not filled with sorrow but with hope. Hope that He would come soon and the whole world will see His glory. Hope that the fullness of redemption is upon us. It’s a hope that kept the early church urgent to be the hands and feet of Jesus. It’s a hope that keeps my own heart urgent to share the gospel in my words and actions. It’s a hope that I pray our girls have as they grow older, that I pray their kids have. It’s an urgent hope that does not pass until the fullness of His kingdom is here.
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