Editing Lord's Prayer (section)

===Second Petition===
{{Blockquote | Thy kingdom come;}}
{{see also|Matthew 6:10}}
"This petition has its parallel in the Jewish prayer, 'May he establish his Kingdom during your life and during your days.{{'"}}{{Sfn|Ladd|1974|p=137}} In the gospels Jesus speaks frequently of God's kingdom, but never defines the concept: "He assumed this was a concept so familiar that it did not require definition."{{Sfn|Ladd|1974|p=45}} Concerning how Jesus' audience in the gospels would have understood him, [[George Eldon Ladd]] turns to the concept's Hebrew biblical background: "The Hebrew word ''malkuth'' [...] refers first to a reign, dominion, or rule and only secondarily to the realm over which a reign is exercised. [...] When ''malkuth'' is used of God, it almost always refers to his authority or to his rule as the heavenly King."{{Sfn|Ladd|1974|pp=46–47}} This petition looks to the perfect establishment of God's rule in the world in the future, an act of God resulting in the eschatological order of the new age.{{Sfn|Ladd|1974|pp=136–137}}

The Catholic Church believes that, by praying the Lord's prayer, a Christian hastens the [[Second Coming]].<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p1s2c2a7.htm#671| title = Catechism of the Catholic Church 671}}</ref> Like the church, some denominations see the coming of God's kingdom as a divine gift to be prayed for, not a human achievement. Others believe that the Kingdom will be fostered by the hands of those faithful who work for a better world. These believe that Jesus' commands to feed the hungry and clothe the needy make the seeds of the kingdom already present on earth (Lk 8:5–15; Mt 25:31–40).

Hilda C. Graef notes that the operative Greek word, ''basileia,'' means both kingdom and kingship (i.e., reign, dominion, governing, etc.), but that the English word kingdom loses this double meaning.<ref>Hilda C. Graef, ''St. Gregory of Nyssa: The Lord's Prayer and the Beatitudes'' (Ancient Christin Writers, No. 18), Paulist Press (New York: 1954), n. 68, p. 187.</ref> Kingship adds a psychological meaning to the petition: one is also praying for the condition of soul where one follows God's will.

[[Richard Challoner]], commenting on this petition, notes that the kingdom of God can be understood in three ways: 1) of the eternal kingdom of God in heaven. 2) of the spiritual kingdom of Christ, in his Church upon earth. 3) of the mystical kingdom of God, in our souls, according to the words of Christ, "The kingdom of God is within you" (Luke 17:21).{{Sfn|Challoner|1915|p=[[s:Page:Thelordsprayeran00chaluoft.djvu/21|17]]}}