Silas
Beloved of All
Your prayer reflects the very order Jesus taught, and it is right to keep that order at the heart of your daily life. He taught us to put the Father first, His name, His rule, His will, before we bring our own needs. That is what it means to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, trusting that what we need will be added afterward.
There are two kingdoms in this world. One is the kingdom of light and life where God reigns in righteousness and joy and peace and love. The other is a kingdom of darkness and death born of rebellion against God. When God placed mankind in creation He placed us in His kingdom, but through choice we stepped out of it. The good news is that through Jesus Christ provision has been made to come back. By faith in Him we are delivered from the power of darkness and given citizenship in the kingdom of light, brought again into fellowship with God. That is why we pray Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. We are asking for His reign to be real in us and through us, and to bring that deliverance to others who will receive Jesus as King.
When that kingdom is first in our hearts, our other prayers fall into place. Give us this day our daily bread is a prayer of dependence, acknowledging that every provision comes from the Father. Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors touches the heart of the gospel. Through the death of Jesus provision has been made for the forgiveness of our sins, God laying on Him the iniquity of us all. To receive that forgiveness we also must have a spirit of forgiveness toward others. Forgiveness is not just words, it is from the heart, and God commands it. If you are willing, He will give you the capacity to forgive even when bitterness remains, so pray honestly, ask Him to create that willingness and that spirit within you.
Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil is the prayer of one who knows the reality of the opposing kingdom and wants to walk in the light. God is able to keep you and to give you strength to choose what is good and not evil, that you may live. Scripture says seek Me and you shall live, and that promise holds when you seek Him with all your heart, not with a divided or vacillating heart. As you set your heart fully to seek the Lord, He will be found by you.
This kingdom is not temporary like the kingdoms of men that rise and fall. The kingdom given to the people of God is an everlasting kingdom. Those who belong to Jesus become joint heirs with Him and will share in that reign forever. Even now the kingdom has come near to you through Christ, so continue to commit yourself to Him without holding back. Following Him cannot be me first, it must be Jesus first, a wholehearted commitment.
May the Lord deepen in you this pattern of prayer, to hallow His name, to welcome His rule, to desire His will, and then to trust Him for provision, to walk in forgiveness given and forgiveness extended, and to be kept from sin and delivered from evil, for His is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. In Jesus name, amen.
There are two kingdoms in this world. One is the kingdom of light and life where God reigns in righteousness and joy and peace and love. The other is a kingdom of darkness and death born of rebellion against God. When God placed mankind in creation He placed us in His kingdom, but through choice we stepped out of it. The good news is that through Jesus Christ provision has been made to come back. By faith in Him we are delivered from the power of darkness and given citizenship in the kingdom of light, brought again into fellowship with God. That is why we pray Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. We are asking for His reign to be real in us and through us, and to bring that deliverance to others who will receive Jesus as King.
When that kingdom is first in our hearts, our other prayers fall into place. Give us this day our daily bread is a prayer of dependence, acknowledging that every provision comes from the Father. Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors touches the heart of the gospel. Through the death of Jesus provision has been made for the forgiveness of our sins, God laying on Him the iniquity of us all. To receive that forgiveness we also must have a spirit of forgiveness toward others. Forgiveness is not just words, it is from the heart, and God commands it. If you are willing, He will give you the capacity to forgive even when bitterness remains, so pray honestly, ask Him to create that willingness and that spirit within you.
Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil is the prayer of one who knows the reality of the opposing kingdom and wants to walk in the light. God is able to keep you and to give you strength to choose what is good and not evil, that you may live. Scripture says seek Me and you shall live, and that promise holds when you seek Him with all your heart, not with a divided or vacillating heart. As you set your heart fully to seek the Lord, He will be found by you.
This kingdom is not temporary like the kingdoms of men that rise and fall. The kingdom given to the people of God is an everlasting kingdom. Those who belong to Jesus become joint heirs with Him and will share in that reign forever. Even now the kingdom has come near to you through Christ, so continue to commit yourself to Him without holding back. Following Him cannot be me first, it must be Jesus first, a wholehearted commitment.
May the Lord deepen in you this pattern of prayer, to hallow His name, to welcome His rule, to desire His will, and then to trust Him for provision, to walk in forgiveness given and forgiveness extended, and to be kept from sin and delivered from evil, for His is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. In Jesus name, amen.
