50 Days of Prayer – Day 4
“Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” Matthew 6:10 (NIV)
We are four days now into our 50 Days of Prayer and today we get to the very heart of praying in God’s will. In this part of the model prayer, Jesus teaches us to pray in alignment with God’s will. Too often I’ve come to God in prayer with “my” will and “my” concerns without considering His will. To be honest, it was more about “my” kingdom than His. Maybe you can relate. We all have a self-centered approach to prayer. But if we are to pray in alignment with God’s will, we must begin with the rule and reign of Jesus Christ in our lives. The phrase “Your kingdom come …” is a reference to God’s spiritual rule and reign on earth and not our own personal agenda for what we think He should do. God first proclaimed His Kingdom in His covenant promise to Abraham and it is present today in the hearts of Christ’s followers. In Luke 17:20-21 (NKJV), Jesus was asked about the Kingdom of God by the religious leaders. Luke tells us, “Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, ‘The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, 'See here!' or 'See there!' For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.’" Does Christ rule and reign in your heart? This is what distinguishes a true follower of Christ from just a fan.
The Bible teaches us that one day there will be a new heaven and a new earth where Jesus will establish absolute authority and every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that He is Lord. For now, while we live in this fallen world, Jesus is teaching us the purpose of prayer. When we pray, “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” we glorify God’s name and ask for help to accomplish His will on earth. Prayer should begin with God’s name, God’s kingdom, God’s will and God’s interests, not ours. Someone once said, “Prayer is a mighty instrument, not for getting man’s will done in heaven, but for getting God’s will done on earth.”
The Life Application Bible makes a great comment on this phrase of the model prayer: “When we pray ‘May Your will be done,’ we are not resigning ourselves to fate but praying that God's perfect purpose will be accomplished in this world as well as in the next. And how does God accomplish His will on earth? He does it largely through people willing to obey Him. This part of the prayer allows us to offer ourselves as doers of God's will, asking Him to guide, lead, and give us the means to accomplish His purposes.”
This is the exciting adventure of following Jesus! We get to be a part of accomplishing God’s will through His rule and reign in our hearts. It just takes aligning our lives with His purposes. Are you willing to do that? Nothing makes life more thrilling. Take a few moments right now and commit your will to His. Pray for His kingdom to come and His will to be done on earth as it is in heaven! Begin to yield your will to what He is speaking in your heart from His Word and see what He does! Record it in your prayer journal.