His kingdom is coming.
According to Jesus, the starting point for prayer is to address God as Father and revere his name. Prayer then moves to God’s agenda. This includes his coming kingdom and the execution of his will.
God’s kingdom is both spiritual and physical. It is both a present and future reality. Spiritually it is present as believers are delivered from the domain of darkness and transferred into the kingdom of his son (Col. 1:13). Physically, it is not here as it will be when Christ returns (Isa. 9:7). Jesus said pray for it come.
One of the goals of missions is to populate God’s kingdom. But entrance into it requires a new birth (John 3:3). This new birth is the work of God’s Spirit (Titus 3:5) as people hear God’s Word (1 Pet. 1:23-25). His kingdom comes when people are born-again.
This is how to pray for it. Pray for God’s Word to spread to all peoples. Pray for God’s spirit to bring about the new birth. When that happens, the kingdom’s population expands.
This week, let’s pray:
“Lord, I pray for your kingdom to come. As I wait for your return, please use me to bring new citizens into your kingdom.”
