This Kingdom of God that Jesus has taught us to pray for,—where is it? what is it? He tells us Himself where His Kingdom is. He says we are not to say, “Lo I here; or Lo! there,” as though His kingdom were in any special place. And then He adds, “for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.”

By this He means that your own heart, your own life, your own body is His kingdom; this is where the great King of glory wants to set His throne and to rule. And in doing this He is only taking His own rightful place, for His kingdom is within us, whether we will let Him reign there or not. He will not force His way in, even to take possession of His own kingdom, but He leaves it to us to choose who shall be our king. He says, “Behold I stand at the door and knock; if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in.”

“Knocking, knocking, who is there?
Waiting, waiting, O how fair;
’Tis a Pilgrim, strange and kingly,
Never such was seen before;
Ah, my soul, for such a wonder,
Wilt thou not undo the door?”

Think of God, the Creator of the heavens and the earth, the King of all the worlds, knocking and waiting at the door of your heart, for you to say, “Come in, and take Thine own place, and reign over me,” is this what you mean, dear children, when you say to Him daily, “Thy kingdom come”? If not, if you do not really want to let Him have the complete control of your life, the words are only a mockery, and not a prayer at all.

But although He is so gentle with you, and knocks and waits so patiently, yet “His arrows are sharp in the heart of the King’s enemies,” and He will “cast out of His kingdom all things that offend and do iniquity.” “Evil cannot dwell with Him,” so when you let Him in, every evil thing will have to go out. It will be cast out by His pure and holy presence within you,—destroyed by the brightness of His coming.”

Do you remember the story of Dagon, the false god of the Philistines? These poor people had given to Dagon the place in their hearts that God had made for Himself. The Philistines went to war with Israel, and in one of their battles they carried away the Ark of the God of Israel, that represented His presence with them.

The Ark was carried by the Philistines into the temple of their god Dagon, and set up there and left. But in the morning Dagon had fallen down from the high place they had made for him, and was lying in the dust. Thinking that this might have been an accident, they set Dagon up again, but the next day they found that the idol had not only fallen down, but was broken to pieces. God loved these poor Philistines, and wanted to teach them that He was the one true God, their true King, with power to cast down all their idols, and put every evil thing away from them, so that they should worship and serve Him only.

Let the King of glory into your heart, and He will rule there and cast out all His enemies. Who or what are these enemies, do you ask? Do you not know that there is one who has sought to take the Lord’s place in the heart of every one? He who said, “I will be like the Most High,” “I will exalt my throne,” Satan (which means the adversary or enemy), has seated himself on the Lord’s throne in the hearts of the children of men. But the kingdom does not belong to him, for “Thine, O Lord, is the kingdom,” so Satan is a usurper and a thief.

And Oh, what sad havoc his evil reign has wrought among men! He first led Adam and Eve to disobey God, then Cain to kill his brother Abel. And every evil deed that has ever been done in this world has been prompted by this wicked “spirit that now ruleth in the children of disobedience.”

Satan is stronger than we,—so strong that we are just led captive by him at his will so long as we let him rule. He puts angry thoughts into our minds, naughty words in our mouths, and makes us do unkind things. He keeps us from doing the good that we would like to do, and makes us do the evil things that we hate. But, thank God, there is One stronger than Satan, One who has already conquered him, and so can cast him out with a single word. Jesus showed this when He commanded the evil spirits to come out of the bodies of those who were possessed with them, and they obeyed His word in fear and trembling. So the Lord Jesus can cast Satan out of our hearts, and every high thing that exalts itself against Him, and bring every thought into captivity to Himself.

But perhaps you want to know what we may expect if we let Him in to rule. Here is what His word tells us that His kingdom brings. “The kingdom of God is righteousness, and peace, and joy.” This is what the King will bring in with Him. He is the “King of Righteousness,” and He is able to “make an end of sin and to bring in everlasting righteousness,” so that you will be saved from doing the naughty things that you hate, and will have power to do what is right.

And He is also the “King of Peace.” He is our peace, and we are told to “let the peace of God rule in our hearts.” You remember how the angels sang, “Peace on the earth,” when Jesus came to live here; and so will His coming bring sweet peace to your heart. No more strife, no angry, bitter words, no quarrelling, where He reigns. No; for He will “cast out of His kingdom all things that offend.”

And His kingdom is “joy.” You know that the nature of a kingdom depends on the character of the king. A wise, good king means a happy people. Surely, His blessed reign of peace must bring fullness of blessing to all His subjects.

“Joy to the world, the Lord is come!
Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare Him room,
And heaven and nature sing.”

But are you wondering if the Lord wants the hearts of the very little children for His kingdom? Yes, even the tiniest; for when He came to earth to show us where and what His kingdom is, He took the form of a tiny babe. This shows us that all, from the very first moment of their birth, are the subjects of His kingdom. Through all the years of helpless infancy and growing childhood, the “righteousness, and peace, and joy” of the kingdom of God ruled in His heart, showing what God can do for every little one. It showed His power and His willingness to put the kingdom of God into the heart of every child who will receive it. And Jesus said that only those who “receive the kingdom of God like little children,” can ever enter therein. So every little child can “receive the kingdom of God.” Do you not want to be a child of the Kingdom? Will you not pray in spirit and in truth, “Thy kingdom come?”

Next week we will tell you more about this heavenly kingdom, and of how the will of the great King shall at last be fully done “on earth as it is in heaven.”