When you pray, do you ever consider what is on God’s mind and what He would like to see done?  Or do you simply show up with a shopping list of what you would like to see done?  I wonder if we wouldn’t get a lot further a lot faster if we would put the Lord’s agenda first?

The Kingdom of God

From the beginning of days to the end of time the Lord’s chief priority is His Kingdom.  What is meant by the Kingdom of God?  Think of it this way:  kingdom refers to a King’s dominion, right?  So when the Bible talks about the Kingdom of God it is referring to God’s dominion.  Put another way, the Kingdom of God refers to the sovereign authority and rule of God over all things in Heaven and on earth.  So when Jesus said the Kingdom of God was at hand (Mark 1:15), He was literally saying the dominion of God was breaking into our time and space.

As stated earlier, this is the Lord’s chief priority.  All his energies are concentrated on moving toward the day when all things will be brought under the Kingship of His Son (Daniel 7:13 – 14).  Notice what Isaiah 9:6 – 7 says.

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this. ESV

The responsibility of governing will rest on the Son of God.  His reign will eventually fill the whole earth (Daniel 2:36 – 45).  When this happens peace, justice, and righteousness will be the order of the day.  This is the awesome climax and consummation of all things towards which the Lord is ardently working.

“Your Kingdom Come”

You have probably noticed that the very first petition in the Lord’s Prayer is “Your Kingdom come.”  When we pray this way we are not just asking for the Lord to quickly bring about His world dominion (although that is part of it).  We are actually aligning ourselves with the Lord’s agenda and asking Him to reign in the right here and right now.  When the Lord exercises His dominion in the present day, His will is done on earth as it is in Heaven.  When this happens we get a foretaste of that day when He will reign over all things.  You might say we get to live in the presence of the future!

A Cry for the Kingdom

There is a certain sense in which all prayer is a cry for the Kingdom.  It doesn’t matter if we are interceding for a nation, or praying for a sick child.  We are asking the Lord to issue a decree on our behalf that will release His power and alter circumstances.  The good news is that He delights to give us His reign.  Look at what Jesus said in Luke 12:32.

“Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”  ESV 

There is so much more that needs to be said about this.  This should be enough to get you started.  God’s Kingdom is His main priority and should be ours as well (Matthew 6:33).  When we align our priorities with His in prayer, He will make our concerns His concerns as well.  He is such a great King!  This is truly living in the Reign.

MD