prayer, "Thy Kingdom come"?

The Kingdom of God is come already, and men are everywhere "pressing
into it" (S. Luke xvi. 16). But His rule over the hearts of men is
imperfect, and will be so as long as it can be said "We see not yet
all things put under Him" (Heb. ii. 8). Therefore He has taught His
faithful people of every age to lift up this prayer--"Thy Kingdom
come"--that it may be brought to pass that He may rule in all hearts
supreme; that the lands which are still heathen may be brought into
His Kingdom; and that those who now profess to bear His Name may be
"Saints" indeed. And inasmuch as He "loved the Church and gave Himself
for it," not that it might consist of so-called Christians--who in
heart are worshippers of Mammon, and not subjects of the
Crucified--but "that He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing
of water and the word, that it should be holy and without blemish,"
this prayer--"Thy Kingdom come"--must continue to ascend until He can
"present it to Himself a glorious Church, not having spot or wrinkle
or any such thing" (Eph. v. 25-27). And then at last the cry will be
raised, "The Kingdoms of this world are become the Kingdoms of our
Lord, and of His Christ, and He shall reign for ever and ever" (Rev.
xi. 15).

We are taught in Holy Scripture that faith can move mountains of
difficulty (S. Matt. xvii. 20), and that the prayer of faith has a
power to which God has set no bounds (S. Matt. xxi. 22). And the
surest way to pray in faith is to be ourselves striving for the
fulfilment of our prayers.

Now the King Himself declared the source from which the weakness of
His Kingdom would arise. When He prayed for His little band of
disciples, He added, "Neither pray I for these alone, but for them
also which shall believe on me through their word; that they all may
be one; as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may
be one in us: that the world may believe that Thou hast sent Me" (S.
John xvii. 20, 21). Consequently if we would gain an answer to our
prayer, "Thy Kingdom come," we want to lead Christian men to think
that the saying is true, "A Kingdom divided against itself cannot
stand" (S. Mark iii. 24); and that it is impossible for "The Kingdom
of Heaven" to be strong to win souls for Christ, whilst its subjects
are forming factions and so-called denominations, and are opposing one
another. "Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell
together in unity! For