Kingdom Prayer

One of the things which I have been thinking about through the time of sabbatical / lockdown is Kingdom Prayer.

I first came across the term through the teaching of World Harvest Mission / Serge and the writing of Jack Miller. His chapter on the praying church in 'Outgrowing the ingrown church' is inspirational. There Miller tells the story of a transformed church prayer meeting, as the whole church grasped the concept of Kingdom Prayer. As I read I knew I needed to grasp this concept, and I desired a church which grasped it too.

I had read the chapter before my sabbatical, it was one of the reasons that lead me to reach out to Serge for some mentoring. Throughout the sabbatical I kept coming back to thinking more about Kingdom Prayer. Here's two very simple thoughts which have helped shape my understanding of Kingdom Prayer.

Remember who is King- because Kingdom Prayer is all about the King! I have always loved the verse in Newton's hymn which says

You are coming to a king Large petitions with you bring For his grace and power are such None can ever ask too much.

The God we pray to is sovereign, and he is good. These truths should bring us confidence when we pray. We can never ask God for something which is too difficult for him. We cannot stray beyond the boundary of his reign - he is Lord of all. We can though stray beyond the boundary of his will. We can seek to use him for our will, rather than pray for his. That's the subtle difference which Kingdom Prayer calls us to watch out for.

We are coming to the King, so we should submit to him, not demand from him. We should seek to pray his passions, not our own desires. After all that is how Jesus taught us to pray

Your kingdom come Your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven

In this request focus is on him, not us. His desires, not ours. So ask yourself, what is the heart of God for this community? What is his will for these people? What is his desire for the church? Now, we don't have to dream up answers to these questions - God has told us what he wants his people to be; how he wants them to live; God sends us out on mission; he revealed his heart through his Son - so let these truths shape our prayers. Let his passion drive what we pray for.

That's the first thing - we remember who is King, not so we can gain what we want from him, but so we can align our heart with his passions - and pray them into the world.

Here's the second - in Kingdom prayer we 'mind the gap' - and pray to close it!

We speak of God's kingdom as being both 'now' and 'not yet.' He is on his throne, but there is a day coming when Jesus shall return and the fullness of his kingdom of peace and justice shall be revealed. His enemy shall be defeated. We shall be made whole. There will be no more pain, no more injustice, no more darkness. We shall not be afraid or anxious. We shall not grieve. But that is sometime in the future, it is 'not yet.'

So there is a gap - between now and not yet. We must mind the gap. Don't ignore it, rather stand in the gap and pray it closed! In essence that is what we do when we pray 'let your kingdom come'. We can get more specific though - like when we see injustice, we shouldn't simply shrug our shoulders and say that is how the world is. We shouldn't simply campaign. We should pray. Because in his Kingdom there is no injustice. Or poverty. Or addiction. Or viruses. So we should dream about what it would look like if the gap was closed. And pray that gap closed.

Here's the thing - we can pray with total confidence, as one day that gap shall be closed. One day God will do away with all the injustice, poverty, addictions and viruses. So pray that He shall do so now. Dream what Moodiesburn will look like, when God let's his Kingdom come - when he closes the gap - and pray your dream into reality.

That is what is at the heart of Kingdom prayer. Standing in the gap, and praying it closed - in the confidence that he shall close the gap one day.

Is that it? You might be thinking - Mark is that it? It doesn't seem like rocket science.

It isn't.

Nor is it a magic wand.

But if you think this is simple be warned, it isn't.

Why? Because when we get down to it, Kingdom Prayer isn't about a secret bit of knowledge, or a new strategy you can learn. It's about the heart. And so far as I know my own heart, I know it keeps seeking it's own ends. I need to work hard to remember that prayer is all about the King. I need to keep reminding myself - it's His throne, not mine.

These simple lessons are something I need to keep putting into practice. I hope you will join me in seeking to pray in this way too.

Lord Jesus, let your Kingdom come.