The Lord’s Prayer · piece 17 of 26
The Second Request
From Luther’s Small Catechism, 1529
Practice mode shows the first letter of each word. Say the line, then tap it to check.
Your Kingdom come. (Matthew 6:10)
What does this mean?
Truly God's Kingdom comes by itself, without our prayer. But we pray in this request that it come to us as well.
How does this happen?
It happens when the Heavenly Father gives us His Holy Spirit, so that we believe His holy Word by His grace and live godly lives here in this age and there in eternal life.
In plain words
God’s kingdom comes whether you pray or not. In this prayer you ask that it come to you too. This happens when the Father gives you the Holy Spirit. Then, by God’s grace, you believe God’s Word and live a godly life now and forever.
Our summary of Luther’s explanation, for reading after his words, not instead of them.
Where Jesus says it
-
Luke 11:13 Jesus promises that the heavenly Father will give the Holy Spirit to those who ask.
Read Luke 11:13
13 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?”
World English Bible, public domain. The whole chapter on Free Scripture → · Read in the NRSVue, the ELCA’s standard translation →
Translated by Robert E. Smith for Project Wittenberg (revised 2004) and placed in the public domain by the translator. How we checked it, and the whole Catechism on one page