The Second Petition: “Your Kingdom Come”

The Compiler (St. Theophan the Recluse). This kingdom is precisely the future Kingdom of Heaven, which will be revealed at the end of the world and at the dread judgment of God. But in order to sincerely desire the coming of this kingdom, one must be assured that we will be counted worthy of it together with those to whom it will be said: “Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (Matt. 25:34). The one worthy of this is he in whom, even in this life, the reign of sin, the passions, and the devil has been cut off. This cutting off is accomplished by the action of grace through faith in the Lord the Savior. One who believes surrenders himself to the Lord, promising to live in holiness and blamelessness. For this, in the sacrament of baptism, the grace of the Holy Spirit is given, regenerating him to new life; from this moment it is no longer sin that reigns in him but grace, teaching every good and strengthening for its performance. This is the kingdom of grace, of which the Lord said: “The Kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:21). The future kingdom is the kingdom of glory, while this spiritual one is the kingdom of grace. Prayer encompasses both kingdoms together. Otherwise, one who desires the speediest coming of the future kingdom, without having become a son of the kingdom of grace, would be desiring that the end of the world might come sooner and the dread judgment with it—at which he would inevitably be found on the side of those who will hear: “Depart from Me, you accursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matt. 25:41). The holy fathers and teachers also take into account both kingdoms together; but sometimes only one—more often the latter.

Tertullian. The kingdom we ask of our heavenly Father is the future kingdom at the end of the world. We pray to Him for the speediest coming of this kingdom, so that we may enter it sooner and not be long detained in servitude, straining to “enter into that rest” (Heb. 4:11). In the Apocalypse the souls beneath the altar cry out to the Lord: “How long, O Lord, holy and true, do You not judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” (Rev. 6:10) So we pray: sooner, O Lord, “may Your kingdom come”—this is the desire of Christians, the confusion of pagans, the triumph of the Angels, for which we suffer and which we desire irresistibly.

St. Cyprian of Carthage. We pray for the coming to us of the Kingdom of God in the same sense as we ask God that His name may be hallowed in us. For when does God not reign, or when did the beginning of His Kingdom occur, which has always been with Him and does not cease to be? We ask that our Kingdom may come, promised to us by God, acquired by the blood and suffering of Christ; we pray that, having served in this age, we may afterwards reign with the Lord Christ, as He Himself promises this, saying: “Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (Matt. 25:34). And we rightly ask for the Kingdom of God—that is, the Kingdom of Heaven; for there is also an earthly kingdom. But one who has already renounced the world is above worldly honors and kingdoms. Thus, one who devotes himself to God and Christ desires not an earthly but a Heavenly Kingdom. And for this, unceasing prayer and supplication are necessary, lest we fall away from the Heavenly Kingdom as the Jews fell away—to whom it had been promised first. The Lord says plainly: “many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the Kingdom of Heaven; but the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness: there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matt. 8:11–12). He shows that the Jews were formerly sons of the Kingdom as long as they did not cease to be sons of God; but then, with the abolition of the Fatherly name among them, the Kingdom was also abolished. Therefore we Christians, who have begun to call God Father in prayer, pray that the Kingdom of God may come to us.

St. Gregory of Nyssa. In the words that follow is contained a prayer that the Kingdom of God may come. Is it only now desirable that the King of the Universe should become King—He who is always the same as He is, unchanging with respect to any change, for whom it is impossible to find something better into which He could change? Therefore what does the prayer mean that calls upon the Kingdom of God? The true understanding of this is known to those to whom the Spirit of truth reveals hidden mysteries, and our understanding of this saying is this: above all there is one true power and might that rules and reigns in the universe—not by any violence, not by arbitrary dominion, not by fear, not by compulsions bringing into subjection that which is submissive to it, because virtue ought to be free from all fear and choose what is good not by cruel domination over oneself but by voluntary judgment; and the chief of all good things is to stand under life-giving authority. Therefore, since human nature has been led into error in its judgment of good by deception, an inclination toward the contrary has arisen in our will; human life possesses everything evil because death has in a thousand ways penetrated into nature; every kind of sin becomes as it were a path for death to enter us. Therefore, since under such arbitrary rule we are as it were certain executioners or enemies, enslaved to death by the onslaughts of the passions, we pray rightly that the Kingdom of God may come to us. For it is not otherwise possible to cast off the evil dominion of corruption unless the life-giving power takes dominion over us again.

Therefore if we pray that the Kingdom of God may come to us, in reality we entreat God as follows: “May I be delivered from corruption, may I be freed from death, may I be loosed from the bonds of sin, may death no longer reign over me, may the arbitrary rule of vice no longer hold power over us, may the enemy not possess me, may he not lead me captive enslaving me through sin; but may Your Kingdom come upon me, that the passions that now prevail and reign over me may depart from me, or rather be reduced to nothing. As smoke is driven away, so let them be driven away; as wax melts before fire, so let them perish (Ps. 67:3).” Smoke, having dispersed in the air, leaves no trace of its own substance, and wax that has been in fire cannot be found. Wax, having fed the flame, was transformed into vapor and air; and smoke came to complete annihilation. So when the Kingdom of God comes upon us, then all that possesses us now will come to nothing, because darkness cannot endure the presence of light, disease does not remain when health is restored, the passions are also without effect when dispassion appears, death is powerless, corruption vanishes, when life reigns in us and incorruption begins to prevail.

“May Your kingdom come.” What a sweet utterance! By it we clearly bring to God the following petition: “May the opposing power be scattered, may the company of aliens be destroyed, may the battle of flesh against spirit cease, may the body not be a refuge for the enemy of the soul, may there appear upon me regal dominion, the angelic hand, thousands of those who set things right, myriads of helpers at the right hand, that from the opposing side may fall myriads of adversaries.” The adversary is strong and terrible and unconquerable for those deprived of Your help, so long as he fights them alone. But as soon as Your Kingdom is revealed, “sorrow and sighing will flee away” (Isa. 35:10), and in their place enter life, and peace, and joy.

St. Cyril of Jerusalem. It belongs to a pure soul to say with boldness: “May Your kingdom come.” For whoever has obeyed Paul, who said “do not let sin reign in your mortal body” (Rom. 6:12), and has cleansed himself in deed, thought, and word, that person will say to God: “May Your kingdom come.”

St. John Cassian. With the second petition, the mind that has reached the highest degree of purity entreats that the Kingdom of his Father may come as quickly as possible, understanding by this that ever-present reign of Christ in the saints, which comes about when, after the foul vices are destroyed from our hearts, the power of the devil ceases and God, by reason of the fragrance of the virtues, begins to rule in us—when, instead of the vanquished carnal lust, purity reigns in our mind; instead of suppressed anger, tranquility; instead of trampled pride, humility—or that Kingdom which in the appointed time is promised to all who have attained perfection and have become sons of God, when Christ will say to them: “Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (Matt. 25:34). Toward this Kingdom are directed and as it were nailed the gaze, desires, and expectations of a pure soul when it cries out to God: “May Your kingdom come!” For it is firmly assured by the testimony of its own conscience that it will immediately inherit this Kingdom as soon as it is revealed. On the contrary, none of the lawless will dare to desire this; for he surely will not want to see the Throne of the Judge who knows that on the day of His coming he will receive for his deeds not a crown and reward, but punishment.

St. John Chrysostom. “May Your kingdom come.” These words also befit a good son, who is not attached to the visible and does not count present blessings as something great, but hastens to the Father and desires future blessings. Such a prayer proceeds from a good conscience and a soul free from all earthly things. This Paul desired each day, which is why he said: “and we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan within ourselves, waiting for adoption as sons, the redemption of our body” (Rom. 8:23). Whoever has such love can neither become proud amid the blessings of this life nor despair amid its sorrows; but, as one living in heaven, he is free from both extremes.

We are taught to say in prayer “May Your kingdom come,” because, suffering violence from fleshly passions and being subject to countless temptations, we need the Kingdom of God: “that sin may not reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its lusts; and do not yield your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members to God as instruments of righteousness” for the God of the ages (Rom. 6:12–13). Moreover, we are taught not to cling too much to the present life but to despise what is present and desire what is future as steadfast; to seek the heavenly and eternal kingdom; and not to be carried away by earthly pleasures—not by bodily beauty, nor by abundance of wealth, nor by the multitude of possessions, nor by the preciousness of gems, nor by the splendor of houses, nor by the titles of governors and military commanders, nor by purple and crown, nor by food, delicacies, and every kind of luxury, nor by anything else among the objects that delight our senses—but, having renounced all this, to seek the Kingdom of God unceasingly.

Blessed Augustine. “May Your kingdom come.” To whom do we say this? God is always King. He is always clothed with royal power, when all creation serves Him. For what kingdom do we pray? For that which will be revealed at the end of the world, and of which it is written in the Gospel: “Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (Matt. 25:34). This is the kingdom we have in mind when we say: “May Your kingdom come.” But if we do not ask, will this kingdom not come? Of course it will. But what use is it if we are then found standing on the left? Therefore when praying thus, we express the desire that the kingdom may come for us, that we too may be found in it and not outside it. That is what you desire, that is what you seek when you pray—to live in such a way that you too may belong to the Kingdom that will be given to all the saints. Therefore when you say “May Your kingdom come,” you are praying that you may live well. — May we belong to Your kingdom, O Lord; may it come also for us, destined to come for Your holy and righteous ones.

We desire that the Kingdom of God may come. It will come, even if we do not desire it. But to desire and pray that the kingdom may come is nothing other than desiring that our Heavenly Father may make us worthy of His kingdom, so that it may not happen—which God forbid—that it comes and does not come for us. For for many this coming kingdom will not come. It will come for those to whom it will be said: “Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (Matt. 25:34). But it will not come for those who will hear: “Depart from Me, you accursed, into everlasting fire” (Matt. 25:41). Therefore when we say “May Your kingdom come,” we pray that it may come for us. What does it mean that it may come for us? That it may find us good. We pray, therefore, that the Lord may make us good; for then His kingdom will certainly come for us in full.

Saying “May Your kingdom come”—which will undoubtedly come whether we desire it or not—we kindle in ourselves the desire for that kingdom, so that it may come for us and we may be found worthy to participate in it.

Blessed Theophylact. “May Your kingdom come”—that is, the Second Coming; for a person with a clear conscience boldly prays for the coming of the resurrection and judgment. A sinner does not pray for the Kingdom of God, for he does not desire its coming because of the punishments that await him there. On the contrary, the righteous man prays that it may come sooner, so that he may be freed from the temptations of this world and find rest.

Symeon of Thessalonica. “May Your kingdom come.” Be King over us through good deeds, not Your enemy through evil deeds. And may Your kingdom come—the last day, when You will reign over all, even over Your enemies themselves, and Your kingdom will be eternal, as indeed it is. But to say this in prayer befits those who are worthy and have prepared themselves for that time.

St. Tikhon of Zadonsk. According to the teaching of St. John Chrysostom, the kingdom here is understood as the Heavenly Kingdom—the kingdom that true Christians await and for which they pray: “May Your kingdom come.” And this, he says, is the word of a wise son, who is not attached to the visible and does not count what is present as great, but hastens to the Father and strives toward what is future. Whoever desires the Heavenly Kingdom and prays “May Your kingdom come” must despise the earthly kingdom, glory, honor, pleasures, and riches. Otherwise, he says, his prayer “May Your kingdom come” is in vain. One must first despise the earthly, and then desire the heavenly. One must have a clear conscience, or cleanse it through repentance, and then pray: “May Your kingdom come.” Otherwise he cannot desire and ask for it, when the conscience defiled by sins threatens with the judgment of God and eternal torment. For how can he pray and say “May Your kingdom come” while his conscience is troubled by the expectation of eternal torment? Therefore it is absolutely required that whoever wishes and asks for the Kingdom of God to come should forsake his sins and cleanse them through repentance, contrition, and faith. For the Kingdom of God is prepared for the righteous and holy and will certainly come; but the one defiled by sins awaits it in vain. From a clear conscience—says Chrysostom—this desire proceeds, and from a soul removed from earthly things.