Growing up, my dad prayed the Lord’s Prayer before every single meal. I must have heard the words “Let your Kingdom come” thousands of times. With the Overflowing theme for 2024 being “Kingdom come,” I have been challenged to think about this phrase on a much deeper level. What comes to mind when we pray, “Let your Kingdom come?”
Many ages ago, God made a covenant with David who was a man after God’s own heart. Despite David’s human failures God promised him the following, “Your house and Kingdom will endure before me forever, and your throne will be established forever” (2 Samuel 7:16). We know that this promise is -and will be- fulfilled in Jesus, who came from the Davidic line. A heavenly Kingdom is waiting for us as believers, where our Lord and Saviour reigns forever. In the meantime, we do pray for God’s Kingdom to come ON EARTH as well as heaven, just as Jesus taught us. Yet do we always grasp what that looks like on earth?
David, who lived a life pursuing God, articulates visions of God’s Kingdom on earth through his psalms of praise. Psalm 145 in particular, mentions the Kingdom of God three times. It lays out who our King is and, through the lens of praise, gives glimpses and pointers of what his Kingdom looks like on earth. Let’s read all 21 verses.
David starts acknowledging right away that God is THE King, and that God is his personal King: “I exalt you, my God the King.” Then he goes on praising and describing his King in attributes and character: “The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and great in faithful love. The Lord is good to everyone; his compassion rests on all he has made.” (v. 8-9). David was intentional in studying God’s character and works, so that by knowing Him, he was able to grow closer to his King and worship Him better.
Then, three times in verses 11-13 David mentions God’s Kingdom. A Kingdom where people experience his goodness and righteousness, resulting in them proclaiming His acts and giving testimonies, one generation to the next. Look at verse 12, where the faithful go and inform ALL people about the King’s acts and the splendor of the Kingdom. Isn’t that evangelism in its purest form? Let that be a call for all of us, Kingdom citizens, to be God’s hands and feet and voice in spreading the good news of the Kingdom! (Matthew 24:14)
In the final section of the psalm, David paints the picture of a Kingdom where the King is closer to his people than humans ever can be. A Kingdom where the King “helps all who fall…” (v. 14), where “all eyes look to You [God], and You give…” (v. 15), “You open your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing.” These verses envision absolute trust and dependence on God the King! Complete surrender and allegiance to a King who “is near to all who call out to him” (v. 18) and who will destroy evil and wickedness (v. 20).
Doesn’t this psalm of praise celebrate the joy of being a part of God’s Kingdom? And through David’s example, it encourages us live in a Kingdom manner where:
We study God’s attributes, character, and actions. As we get to know our King personally, our eyes are continuously being opened to his awe-inspiring acts. This will result in a deeper growing relationship with him.
Experiencing the King this way will naturally be followed by the urge to proclaim to all people who He is and what He has done for us – the good news!
Being a Kingdom citizen means total surrender to and complete dependence on the King of all Kings, who satisfies the desire of every living thing!
Psalm 145 celebrates the delight of being part of God’s Kingdom and it articulates the desire for every living thing to experience that. So, let’s pray more fervently: “Let your Kingdom come!” and then put our prayer into action and go “inform all people!”