Prayers to Expand the Kingdom of God
We have been learning over the last few years about all of the blessings that are ours as a result of our covenant relationship with God that comes through faith in Jesus Christ. Primary among these many blessings, we discover we have been granted authority and power to fulfill our responsibility in expanding the kingdom (reign and rule) of God in the world around us. One of the primary ways that we do that is through prayer. We pray for God to move in the lives of people and their circumstances, asking, or pleading, for healing, financial provision or a host of other needs. Unfortunately, we sometimes believe that God will actually answer our prayers, many times not. We can do better.
Some of the best known but maybe least understood, verses in the Bible are the Lord’s prayer, Matthew 6:9-13. Many have memorized these verses and some actually say these words as a part of their weekly corporate worship services. We pray “Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” But do we really know, much less believe, what we are asking Father God to do? In short, we are asking God the Father to send His kingdom, that His rule and reign would be made manifest in the earth, beginning with us. But our asking seldom gets connected with our believing and little happens in response to our prayers.
One way of addressing this is to return to the forgotten truths of the creation account in Genesis 1 and 2, where we find we have been given “dominion” over all the earth. We were in fact commanded to “subdue it, and rule over…every living thing that moves on the earth” (Genesis 1:28). Likewise, Jesus has called us to be His ambassadors, and by His authority, we are to represent Him to the world around us. It is an authority that comes to us by virtue of our being “in Christ” and finds its expression as we seek to accomplish God’s will and purposes upon the earth.
Believing this truth impacts the way that we pray. In his book, Authority in Prayer: Praying with Power and Purpose, Dutch Sheets walks us through the Biblical foundation for our authority and then applies this truth to several areas of life. The book is intensely practical, well illustrated and will definitely bring you into a place where you can pray with greater authority for your spouse, children, un-churched neighbors and the challenging circumstances of life. You will be encouraged to pray more and with more authority. I highly recommend you check it out for yourself.
This month we begin our preparations to honor the King of kings and the Lord of lords, the Lord Jesus Christ, through the Advent and Christmas seasons. As we do so let’s remember to connect faith with our asking and pray expectantly. Prayer is one of the highest privileges of the Christian life. It is also a vehicle whereby we can change the events of our world. Let’s grow together as people of prayer and experience the authority and power that is ours by virtue of our being in “Christ.” I can think of no better way to practice thankfulness and usher in the season of Advent.
Author
Pastor Bruce is the Executive Director of God's Living Stones. He lives in Omaha, NE, with his wife Barb. They have two adult children.
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Comments (1)
Great Article! Keep 'em coming.
December 15, 2018 at 9:06am