| The Golden Gate of Prayer |
Chapter 7 |
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Then there are prayers whose answers may begin to come at once, but cannot be granted in fullness and completeness at any one time, because the blessings that are sought are progressive and can be given only gradually. The prayer, “Thy kingdom come,” belongs to this class. It was not a sudden coming of the heavenly kingdom to earth that was in the mind of Christ when he gave this prayer to his disciples. He did not mean that they should ask for the letting down of the throne of glory from amid the splendors of heaven to some locality on earth.
The petition contemplates the ultimate bringing of all human hearts and lives under the divine sway. But the subjugation is a moral one. It is not such submission to Christ as King as takes place when one nation is conquered by another in war. The conquests of this kingdom are not made by force; they are moral conquests and are made by love. “Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power,” ran the ancient word of hope. Human hearts are sovereign; this is part of the divine image in man. Every one is lord of his own life. God is strong enough to destroy the universe. There are no massive gates or doors he could not rend open. But no hand, not even the omnipotent hand of God, will ever force the door of a human heart. The yielding must be voluntary. It must be yielding of love. Not until men love God can they be in the kingdom of heaven. “If ye love me, “ said the Master, “keep my commandments.”
The coming of the kingdom of God must therefore be gradual. One by one men accept Christ and become his subjects. Then in those who do take his yoke the surrender cannot be made fully and perfectly in a moment, but must be progressive. They go on from strength to strength. The inner man is renewed day by day. Jesus calls us to him to learn of him, and the learning takes all our life.
Thus it is that the prayer, “Thy kingdom come,” has been receiving its answer every day since it began to be offered. The spiritual sway of Christ in this world has been extending continually. Especially in recent years has its progress been wonderful. The work of Christian missions during the nineteenth century has been stupendous.
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