20150811 YOUR KINGDOM YOUR WILL

YOUR KINGDOM YOUR WILL

Matthew 6:10 May Your Kingdom come soon. May Your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.

Jesus has already begun to preach, "Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near." (Mat 4:17) And in Matthew 12:28 He says, “But if I am casting out demons by the Spirit of God, then the Kingdom of God has arrived among you.” In other places Jesus says that the Kingdom is “near” or “already among you.” I won’t take time to go into all of this here, but I believe that Jesus clearly showed that the Kingdom is indeed here and is indeed active. However, not everyone sees it. It is not fully established as it will be one day. Therefore, our prayer is, “Fully establish Your Kingdom here on earth as it is in Heaven.” When His will is done His Kingdom is being established.

This brings us to the part of this verse that we should pray more fervently, “May Your will be done.” God whose ways are far above our ways and whose thoughts are far above our thoughts (Isa 55:9) desires that we would seek His will over our own.

Life is full of trouble. Jesus even promised it would be (John 16:33) but He also promised He had overcome and would be with us. Much of our prayers are for God to get us out of the trials of life when they should be for God’s purposes to be fulfilled in them. Now, I cannot pretend to fully understand, nor interpret God’s purpose in any given trial, but I know He desires that we would be like Christ (Rom 8:29). I know that sometimes He will use us to help others be like Christ (Gal 4:19). And I know that He is not willing that any should perish (2Pet 3:9).

So, knowing these things let us be found faithful in our prayers, crying out to God for His Kingdom to be fully established and for His will to be done even through our suffering, in our suffering and, when it is His will, through sufferings removal. Our brothers and sisters who are imprisoned for the faith often ask us to pray; 1. Not for our release 2. For the salvation of our captors and fellow prisoners 3. For God’s will to be done through our suffering. 4. And that our faith will not fail. It seems they get that God has a purpose in their suffering that goes beyond just setting them free from it.

Father in heaven, fully establish Your Kingdom in my heart, in our hearts and lives and upon this planet. May Your will be done today for Your glory. As John Ortberg says, “Father, bring up there down here.” In Jesus Name, AMEN!!!