Becoming Like Jesus: PrayerSample

Your Kingdom Come

This week we are going to dive into the second line of the prayer Jesus taught His disciples to pray. And the idea Jesus is communicating here is powerful—it’s an invitation to intercession.

Intercession means to intervene (to step in or speak up) on someone else’s behalf. What is so cool about this is that Jesus’ invitation to intercession is really just another invitation to become like Him and join in with God’s mission of bringing heaven to earth.

Let’s start to unpack this.

Pray…

Heavenly Father, thank you for who you are and what you have done in the world through Jesus. Jesus, thank you for being the perfect example I get to follow and inviting me to do just that. I pray that, by the power of your Holy Spirit, that you would help me bring a preview of heaven to every place I go today. Help me bring justice, mercy, and hope. Help me see the opportunities you are giving me to intervene on someone else’s behalf. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Read…

Pray like this: Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy. May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us today the food we need, and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us. And don’t let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one. Matthew 6:9-13 NLT

Consider…

We are invited to pray heaven to earth. Have you ever thought of your prayers through that lens? That with the words you say to God in prayer, the earth could actually start to look more like heaven than it did before you opened your mouth to talk to Him? Because that is what Jesus is telling us to ask.

What is it we are actually asking?

May your Kingdom come soon.

What is a kingdom? A kingdom is a realm ruled by a king. So, the Kingdom of Heaven is the realm where God rules. It’s the place where everything is as it should be; the place where justice and righteousness are the bedrock of reality and where God’s goodness touches everyone and everything. It’s the place we all deeply long to be, but are often unsure of how to actually get there.

But the good news, the thing that Jesus’ life was all about, is the life-changing announcement that God’s kingdom is coming on earth as it is in heaven and everyone is invited in.

That raises the question: If Jesus came to bring God’s kingdom, why is He telling us to keep praying that it comes? And that is a great question.

Jesus introduced God’s kingdom, initiated its arrival, and then invited us, His disciples, to join Him on the mission of bringing heaven to earth. That’s why the Church exists today. We are meant to be a present preview of what the full feature film called Heaven is all about.

In your own words, could you explain what the Kingdom of Heaven is? What does it mean to you to be invited to play a part in Jesus’ mission? What does prayer have to do with that mission?

Practice…

We are invited to pray heaven to earth—to go before our holy, heavenly Father and ask Him to make the world we live in more like the realm where He rules. That is a big deal.

What is true of God’s Kingdom? It’s established on justice and righteousness. Justice is simply wrong things being made right. And righteousness is the freedom that results from acting justly. They go hand-in-hand to create the beautiful reality that is the realm where God rules, because they ultimately describe the kind of King He is.

As you pray now, ask God to make wrong things right in the world around you. And offer yourself as an agent of justice in the world.

Is there anything that breaks your heart when you look at the world today? Is there anything that stirs up righteous anger in you? Bring those things, no matter how big or small, before our just and righteous King today.

Listen…

As you finish praying today, create space for God to speak to you. Set your timer for five minutes and just be still and quiet, humbling yourself before your good King.

Ask Him to speak to you.

When you get distracted, come back to Jesus by praying the Lord’s Prayer, slowly, line-by-line, listening for the Holy Spirit to comfort and challenge you to take a step of obedience today.