Living 4 Him

“Your Kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven.” Matthew 6:10

The words above are ones we repeat often collectively, especially if we attend church regularly.  However, using these words in our everyday living as we pray for situations around us brings a power and focus to our prayers like no other.

These words belong to the larger prayer known as the Lord’s Prayer, given to the disciples when they asked Jesus how to pray.  With this power-filled phrase, Jesus invites us to bring God’s kingdom to our own lives here on earth. 

God’s kingdom is ruled by all that he is: love, peace, joy, goodness, patience, kindness, forgiveness.  As we pray for God’s kingdom to come, we ask for the best of who God is to be given to a person or a situation.  We pray for conditions on earth to turn; to become like the perfection in Heaven’s paradise.  And through Jesus, we have permission to make these bold requests. 

God’s will is for all to be part of his kingdom; loving him and others, trusting God’s sovereign plans, shining his light, giving peace and joy to the world.  Giving this desire to God in prayer opens the way for his kingdom to be established.  

Praying for God’s Kingdom to come and his will to be done means we partner with God in a massive way.  We desire his results, his higher purposes taking precedence over our own wishes.  God’s desires top anything we could ever ask for.

When we pray for God’s kingdom,

we pray for his grace to prevail.

we pray for darkness to be overcome by good.

we pray that each person would feel his love and kindness.

we pray for our hearts to increase in peace, forgiveness and joy.

Praying for the kingdom never steers us the wrong way. 

When the horrors of 9/11 happened, I initially found myself unsure of what to pray.  The reality of so many lives lost, the trauma of human life so brutally erased, the empty places at dinner tables affecting family after family.  I prayed for comfort and healing, but my prayers didn’t seem satisfying until I prayed for God’s kingdom to come this tragedy; for his will to be accomplished even through the devastation.  God’s kingdom and God’s will usher in true, deep healing that surfaces love and goodness in untold ways.

However, we don’t need a tragedy or a large scale event to pray for the kingdom. Even as we drive to the grocery store or meet with friends, we can pray for God’s kingdom to come because God’s kingdom is never wrong and is desperately needed everywhere.   

When Jesus told us to “seek first the kingdom” (Matthew 6:33) he reminded us that God’s kingdom is the first element needed in every circumstance.  Without it, life is meaningless and wasted. 

From Frederick Buechner: The Kingdom of God is where our best dreams come from and our truest prayers. We glimpse it at those moments when we find ourselves being better than we are and wiser than we know. We catch sight of it when at some moment of crisis a strength seems to come to us that is greater than our own strength. The Kingdom of God is where we belong. It is home. . .

Will you join me in praying for God’s kingdom to come? For God’s will to be done? It doesn’t get any better than that!

Reaching in (allowing God’s word to work in your lives):  The kingdom of God is mentioned in many ways in Matthew 13.  Read parts of this passage to gain new perspectives on God’s kingdom.

Reaching out (taking God’s word into the world):  Think of two or three troubles you have on your mind.  Place them in God’s hands with the words: “May your kingdom come.  May your will be done.”