A PRAYER FOR A COMING KINGDOM
Matthew 6:10

Friends, we are in our study of the portion of the Sermon on the Mount known as The Lord’s Prayer.  I think we are all agreed that prayer is important in order for us to maintain our relationship with Christ.  Yet few of us have mastered the art of praying. 

A few years ago I obtained a little article which described the power of prayer.  It stated that a survey had been done among Christians in America that showed the average Christian prayed only 47 second every 24 hours.  The author then went on and calculated that, if the average American made $10 per hour, then he uses about thirteen cents worth of time in prayer.  The author concluded that if our love for God was measured in terms of our communion with Him, there was only about a 13 cent a day difference between a Christian and an atheist.

Friends, how can we pray powerfully?  How can we go boldly before God with confidence?  I believe the answer is found in this prayer that we know as The Lord’s Prayer.  First, we must approach God with reverence for who He is.  His name is to be hallowed in our lives.

Secondly, we are to pray for a coming kingdom.  The third line of this prayer that Jesus taught His disciples is this:  Your kingdom come.  Jesus’ focus was on a kingdom.  It was the centerpiece of His very first message.  Listen to these words of Jesus:  And after John had been taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”  (Mark 1:14-15). 

Now Jesus spoke of the kingdom in at least three different ways.  He spoke of it as existing in the past, for we read these words in Luke 13:28, There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth there when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves being cast out.  Jesus also spoke of it as if it were present already.  Luke records these thoughts:  Now having been questioned by the Pharisees as to when the kingdom of God was coming, He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed; nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!  Or There it is!’  For behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst”  (Luke 17:21).  Finally, Jesus spoke of it as being yet future, as it is here in The Lord’s Prayer. 

Friends, how are we to pray for Christ’s kingdom to come?  First, we can pray for the salvation of souls.  Someday the last person will be won for Christ.  Someday all soul-winning will be completed.  Each person being saved brings us that much closer to the coming of Christ.  Perhaps we are not eager in evangelism today because we have lost our excitement for the kingdom.  We are so absorbed with living for the now that we have forgotten about our future.

Secondly, we can commit ourselves to Christ, allowing Him to fulfill His desires through us.  Let us invest our money for His kingdom.  Let us invest our time for His kingdom.  Let us invest our work for His kingdom. 

Father, It is a privilege to pray for Your kingdom to come.  We all desire for heaven to arrive.  But, Father, thank You for opening our eyes to see our responsibility in bringing in Your kingdom.  Father, give us a zeal for evangelism that the lost might be won.  Give us a willingness to invest our resources and time to advance Your kingdom.  Make us serious about our desire to serve You.  We pray this in Christ’s name.  Amen.

 

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