6:10 May your kingdom come (ἐλθέτω ἡ βασιλεία σου). The second God-oriented petition is concerned mainly with the eschaton (末世). The God-petitions are all tied together in the sense that they all reflect a desire for the coming of the final kingdom (cf. 1 Cor 16:22; Rev 22:20). God’s name will never be finally honored until Christ’s return.
Yet there is also an ABA pattern in the sense that the eschatological element is primarily in this second petition, surrounded by two that are perhaps primarily related to the present community. So while this second petition includes a desire that the kingdom come upon unbelievers (i.e., evangelism) and that God’s people experience the kingdom in a new way (i.e., spiritual growth), it primarily centers on a desire for this world to end. The Jews said that any prayer that fails to ask for the kingdom is not a true prayer. So this prayer asks for the present kingdom to manifest itself in new ways, but especially asks that God end this present order and bring the kingdom in fullness.[1]
耶稣在主祷文教导基督徒祷告父神的时候,要祈求“你(父)的国降临”。这包含:祈求天国临到不信的人(就是藉着福音是他们成为信徒——神在他们内心中掌权)、祈求神的子民以新的方式体验天国(即属灵的成长,表明神在他内心中掌权日渐增长)、祈求这个罪恶世界成为过去,让现今的天国(神掌权)以新的方式显现出来,尤其是祈求父把现今的次序给终结,让天国完全降临。
[1] Osborne, G. R. (2010). Matthew (Vol. 1, p. 228). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.