When we pray, “your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Matt. 6:10), a conundrum arises. God’s kingdom will come and his will be done whether we pray for them or not. So why do we pray for them?

The answer, I think, is this: Jesus wants us to choose sides, and praying for God’s kingdom and will is the way to do so.

Now, the call to choose sides can be dangerous. Several years ago, during the Los Angeles riots, Rodney King let out the plaintive cry, “Can’t we all just get along?” In a society like ours—with its numerous religious, ethnic, and class fault lines—such an appeal makes a certain amount of sense. An “us vs. them” mentality can be dangerous, the prelude to a fight. Our multicultural society needs to be united by what it holds in common, not divided by what distinguishes one person from another. A house divided against itself cannot stand, after all.

But not all divisions are wrong. In fact, on some matters, division is necessary. There is not middle way between truth and falsehood, after all—no common ground between justice and injustice. God is under no obligation to get along with the devil and his minions. A God who did so would be unworthy of our praise. So, in the battle between spiritual and moral absolutes, we need to choose our side and stand our ground. Are we for God or against him, citizens of his kingdom or traitors within it, doers of his will or disobedient sinners? Prayer requires us to answer such questions.

One of the greatest side-choosing psalms of the Old Testament is Psalm 2. Its first three verses describe a conflict of kingdoms:

Why do the nations conspire

and the people plot in vain?

The kings of the earth take their stand

and the rulers gather together

against the Lord

and against his Anointed One [i.e., Christ].

Verses 4–5 describe God’s response: “The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them.” When we will learn that our arms are too short to box with God?

Verses 6–9 speak of Jesus. “I have installed my King on Zion, my holy hill,” God says. “You are my Son, today I have become your Father. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession. You will rule them with an iron scepter; you will dash them to pieces like pottery.” This is not just Old Testament imagery, by the way. John alludes to it in Revelation 20:15.

In Jesus, then, God’s kingdom comes and his will is done, whether we want them to or not. But that is not the end of the matter. Heaven gives us a choice. We can “serve the Lord” and “kiss the Son.” We are blessed if we take refuge in God (Ps. 2:10–12).

So, whose side are we on? Heaven waits to hear our answers.