Friday
Matthew 6:10, Acts 1:1-8, 2 Peter 3:9

Whenever my spiritual life begins to feel a little out of kilter, I always go back to the basics and spend time praying through the Lord’s Prayer—drilling down on what each phrase represents to the life of a Christ-follower.

While most of the prayer is pretty straight forward, the phrase, “Your kingdom come,” can be a little more challenging to interpret. Perhaps the difficulty resides with the fact the phrase has become an idiom used to describe something that seems to last forever (e.g., the two girls will talk on the phone till kingdom comes) or something that can be blown apart (e.g., the explosion blew the building to kingdom come). In both cases, the phrase is not positive. So it’s no wonder that the most earnest prayer can experience at least a little jostle of negativity as the words leave their lips.

Actually, this three-word phrase encapsulates what God’s design for the Church should be regarding her mission’s ministry, for both the short-term and long-term. I found an article from crosswalk.com that offers an excellent explanation:

When Jesus said, “Pray … your kingdom come …” he intended for the mission of God’s kingdom—reaching unbelievers with the Gospel—to be fueled by the prayers of the saints. Like the parable of the mustard seeds, the invited guests, the dragnet, and many others (see Matthew 13).

Acts 1:7 … you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.

Some Christians become distracted by focusing on the future aspects of the kingdom, they neglect their marching orders to pray for growth of the kingdom of saved souls.

Today, pray for the Holy Spirit to show you how you can participate in growing God’s kingdom.