1. _"Thy kingdom come,"_ that is the Second Petition. We pray for the kingdom of our heavenly Father. In the Second Article of our faith we already heard of a kingdom, the _kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ._ There we learned that our Lord has redeemed us from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil, in order that we may be His own, and in His _kingdom_ live under Him in everlasting innocence, righteousness, and blessedness. _Christ's kingdom and our Father's kingdom is the same thing._ Christ established this kingdom by His sufferings and death. All that believe in Christ belong to this kingdom. Christ is their Lord and King; He governs them, bestowing upon them in His kingdom all His gifts: forgiveness of sins, the grace of God, true righteousness, peace with God, etc. He protects them against all their enemies, against sin, Satan, and death. We also call this kingdom of our Father the _Kingdom of Grace,_ or the _true Christian Church._ It has its beginning here on earth; but when our Lord and King will come again at the Last Day, He will lead it to His glory in heaven. Then we shall call this kingdom the _Kingdom of Glory._ 2. Our Lord teaches us to pray for the _coming_ of this kingdom. True, _"the kingdom of God comes indeed without our prayer, of itself."_ Christ lives and reigns, and He gathers His congregation through the Gospel from all nations, and He will lead it to its heavenly glory even if we do not pray for it. But still the Lord teaches us to pray for the coming of His kingdom. We pray _"that it may come to us also."_ It is God's will to give _us_ His kingdom. Our Lord says: _"Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom."_ Luke 12,32. But God wants us to _pray_ for His good gifts. We pray in this petition that our Father's kingdom may come to us also, that we, too, may belong to His kingdom and remain in it, _"here in time and hereafter in eternity."_ 3. _"How is this done?"_ How does the kingdom of God come to us? The kingdom of God comes to us only through faith in Christ. Only those who believe in Him can enter the kingdom. But _"I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Christ, or come to Him."_ (In what part of your Catechism did you learn this?) To bring us to Christ is _the work of the Holy Ghost._ He has called me to Christ and His grace by the Gospel. _"Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God."_ John 3,5. The kingdom of God, therefore, comes to us _"when our heavenly Father gives us His Holy Spirit, so that by His grace we believe His holy Word and lead a godly life."_ The Holy Ghost can and will graciously, by the Gospel, work within our hearts, so that we believe God's holy Word, believe in Jesus Christ, our Savior; and in this way the kingdom of God will come to us.