February 21-27: Praying with Jesus for the Kingdom
For most of these 40 days of prayer, we’re using the Lord’s Prayer as our guide. We’re continuing that this week with the second request in Jesus’ prayer, “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” Here’s the full prayer that Jesus taught us:
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil. (Matthew 6:9–13)
(If you need help knowing how to use this prayer guide, see our brief overview to our 40 days of prayer that has some tips on praying.)
Sunday February 21
Since Lent is associated with fasting, sorrow, and death, and since Sundays are associated with feasting, joy, and resurrection, Sundays have never been counted as part of Lent. In keeping with that, even this guide won’t give you an assignment on Sundays. Pray anyway! Pray in joy for the resurrection of Christ that guarantees our resurrection, and join us for worship. 10a every Sunday.
Monday February 22
Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Jesus is asking God the Father to bring the kingdom of heaven to earth, and to make earth the same as heaven. So what’s the difference between our kingdoms? What needs to change?
In short: everything wrong needs to be made right.
The book of Revelation records the vision of the kingdom coming to earth that was given to John. Here’s what he saw coming:
And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” (Revelation 21:3–4)
Every sickness, pain, discontentment, and hurt that you experience is a result of sin’s reign over the kingdom of earth. It shouldn’t be this way, and deep down, every one of us is desperate to have these things taken away. Everything in creation is longing to be restored to this state of peace and wholeness, this state of shalom.
We need the Kingdom of Heaven to take over and make everything right again.
Today, pray with Jesus. Pray that you would see more clearly the things in your life and world that need to be made right. Pray that seeing those things would stir your desperation to see all things restored. Pray for more compassion for the people and creation around you. Pray for their hurts and need for Jesus. Pray that the Spirit would make you want to see things healed more than you want to escape. Pray, and beg God to bring His kingdom to earth.
Tuesday February 23
Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
We’re longing for rescue and healing. We want to have all the symptoms and effects of sin taken away and made right. But all of these (very good) longings should drive us toward our deepest desire and need of all.
Later in the same chapter of Revelation that we read yesterday, John describes the presence of God in the kingdom that’s coming:
And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. (Revelation 21:22)
I love the way that Barry Jones summarizes this passage in his book Dwell (I highly recommend reading the whole thing):
…John anticipates a day when all creation will be made new - when earth and heaven will be one - and the entirety of this new creation will become the sanctuary of God, his holy dwelling place. In that day there will be no temple because the whole of creation will become a temple permeated with the presence of God. He will be with us.
We need help. We need salvation and healing. And we need to fight to grasp the fact that the thing that is going to heal all our wounds and make everything right again is the presence of God coming in fullness to earth. The perfect place we’re longing for is the presence of God.
Pray for God to fill the earth with His presence. Confess that you don’t always long for His presence more than everything else. Pray that He would remind you that all your desires are only satisfied in Him. Remember times that He has healed you and provided for you. Thank Him for being your provider and only source of life. Pray and ask Him to permeate your life and world with His presence, that we could be made whole and satisfied in Him.
Wednesday February 24
Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Revelation contains a lot of images describing the kingdom as it was revealed to John. A lot of these can be difficult to wrap our minds around, but one that stands out to me as shocking, yet relatable, comes in 21:23.
And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. (Revelation 21:23)
By his grace, God has given me tastes of his glory here on earth. I also know very well what sunlight looks and feels like, illuminating and warming everything around me.
So, imagine your world so filled with the real, present, and undistorted glory of God that you no longer need the sun. Imagine that darkness no longer exists, and that all of the light, warmth, and life that we need comes from God’s presence all around us.
Pray and picture this image. Spend time dwelling on it, and pray that God would help you see it more clearly. Ask Him to give you a greater sense of His presence in your life. Pray that His glory would outshine the sun. Pray that the people around you would be stirred by the Spirit to long for God’s presence like this, and that He would draw them to Himself for the satisfaction and wholeness they want so badly.
Thursday February 25
Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
A kingdom needs a king, and the kingdom of heaven has one. His name is Jesus.
We get a pretty great picture of what His coming in fullness will look like in Psalm 24:
Lift up your heads, O gates!
And be lifted up, O ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in.
Who is this King of glory?
The LORD, strong and mighty,
the LORD, mighty in battle!
Lift up your heads, O gates!
And lift them up, O ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in.
Who is this King of glory?
The LORD of hosts,
he is the King of glory! (Psalm 24:7–10)
The past couple of days, we’ve been looking at our lives and the world around us, seeing how desperate our need really is for God to bring His kingdom to earth and make everything right again.
So with that building anticipation and longing, picture the actual entrance of Jesus on the day He returns and brings heaven with Him. Read the passage from Psalms again, and picture our world, everything in it groaning for its healer, and finally seeing Him arrive.
Pray that God would fill you with anticipation of the day Jesus returns in fullness. Pray that the Spirit would help you better connect with the longing that your friends, family, city, and world are feeling today. Pray that He would unite us to join the chorus of hurting creatures, desperate for their king to come. Pray that God would give you deeper and deeper longing for His return, and ever-building excitement as you look forward to that great day. The King of glory is coming!!!
Friday February 26
Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
In this time when we are living in one kingdom (earth), but are citizens of another (heaven), we see a lot of similarities to the experience of Israel, who spent a lot of time in exile from their home.
During one of those times, they were in Babylon. Here is some instruction that God gave to them on what they should do there:
“Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease.” (Jeremiah 29:4–6)
So far, it sounds like pretty standard advice. They should live good and fruitful lives, build families, and take care of themselves. But, take a look at the next sentence:
“But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.” (Jeremiah 29:7)
God’s call for exiles like us is to imitate Him by seeking the welfare of others over our own. God is humble. He is calling us to make the kingdom of heaven real here on earth by selflessly loving others, and being shalom-bringers here. God made everything to flourish. His command to us is that if our city doesn’t flourish, we won’t flourish.
Pray for Jesus to return soon and bring heaven with Him. Pray for the people in your life to be drawn to hope in Jesus. Pray for greater understanding of their needs, their hurts, their questions. Pray that you would be given more compassion for them. Pray for the Spirit to empower you to make a difference in their lives, and truly love them the way Jesus loves you.
Saturday February 27
Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Right now, we are living as people between two kingdoms. The more we see of the kingdom of heaven and what it looks like, the more frustration we will feel looking at the brokenness in this kingdom that needs to be made right.
This frustration is good. It connects us with God, because He feels it more acutely than we ever could. He feels it so deeply that He sent His only Son to take our brokenness on himself. He sees our lack of shalom and refuses to leave us there.
However, we should also follow Him in not giving into despair or apathy. Our hope is secure because it’s in Him.
So how should we respond today?
Rejoice in hope,
be patient in tribulation,
be constant in prayer. (Romans 12:12)
It may be obvious, but we need to trust that God’s promise is true. He is coming to finish this work and heal all of us completely. Because of Him, we can rejoice, be patient, and be constant in prayer.
Read this old hymn a few times, and try to really internalize its picture of patience in hope of the coming kingdom:
This is my father’s world,
O let me ne’er forget.
That though the wrong seems oft so strong,
God is the ruler yet.
This is my Father’s world,
the battle is not done.
Jesus who died will be satisfied,
and earth and heaven be one.
Pray for Jesus to come back soon! Beg Him to return and make earth and heaven one. Pray that He would help you remember today that He is here and in control, no matter how hard the circumstances get. Pray for more trust in Him. Pray for more joy and perseverance as you wait for His rescue. Pray for hope that overflows to the people and places around you.
Pray for Jesus to come soon.
