Prayer Revolution: A 14-Day DevotionalExemplo

The King Comes in Prayer

Praying is our means of experiencing the present power of Christ. As Jesus told His disciples, “Wait. You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you.” In response, the disciples “joined together constantly in prayer” (Acts 1:4, 8, 14). Prayer is the instrument and means by which God's people are sustained until Jesus returns. All prayer is now kingdom prayer, as all prayer is mediated through Christ.

But what is kingdom prayer? Thankfully, the Bible’s concept of kingdom is rich but not complicated. When Jesus tells us to pray, “Your kingdom come,” He emphasizes that we are to live in the expectation of His triumphant return. We live today in light of tomorrow. No present suffering, discouragement, or opposition can overcome our confident hope that Jesus will soon restore all things.

For believers, the entire framework of our faith is founded on the eventual return of Christ and the establishment of an eternal kingdom. The beginning of kingdom history began with Christ taking the form of the eternal Creator-King. As John 1:3 says, “All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made.” Jesus’ kingdom began when He “became flesh and dwelt among us'' (John 1:14), and through this, Christ reconciled heaven and earth through His blood; Jesus became the firstborn of the new humanity and the Redeemer of all creation. 

Jesus’ resurrection from the dead is God’s verdict that Christ’s work is finished, final, and forever sufficient for completing every kingdom purpose: “[God has] declared [him] to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead'' (Rom. 1:4). In the aftermath of the resurrection, the vulnerable Savior has become the invincible King of Kings. Christ pours out His Holy Spirit from on high, the sum and symbol of His redemptive victory. 

When we pray, we can be encouraged that our voices are heard by our King who hears our every word and will join us sooner than we think. The Kingdom is coming. Do not fear. Hope is on the way. As the prophet foretold, “The great day of the Lord is near, near and hastening fast” (Zephaniah 1:14).