October 30 & November 2, 2025
Dr. John Welborn
How to Talk with God
Desiring His Will
Matthew 6:10 & Luke 11:2b

Jesus has taught us that prayer is 1) Simple and Sincere, and that it is 2) Aware of God’s Glory. Today, Jesus will show us that prayer is Desiring of His Will.

“I find an experience fully God-centered, asking of God no gift more urgently than His presence, the gift of Himself, joyous to the highest degree, and unmistakably real.”C.S. Lewis (Reflections on the Psalms)

One of the ways we go so wrong in our attempts at prayer is that we make it all about us. OUR wants, needs, and comforts…OUR finances, family, and future. But, Jesus is going to teach us a better way, the right way to talk with God today…

Main Idea: Jesus Teaches that Prayer is Focused on Accomplishing God’s Will

Primary Texts: “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”Matthew 6:10 and “Your kingdom come.”Luke 11:2b


2 Elements to Praying in the Will of God from Matthew 6:10 & Luke 11:2b

I. Aligned to Advance the Kingdom in Us - “Your kingdom come, your will be done…”Matthew 6:10a & “Your kingdom come.”Luke 11:2

‘Kingdom (gk: basileias)’ is not geographical with defined boundaries but rather as a dominion or reign of a ruler or king.

What is the Kingdom of God?“God’s active and sovereign reign throughout history bringing about His purposes in the world through Christ Jesus. In the simplest of terms, the Kingdom of God is what the world looks like when King Jesus gets His way.”Jeff Christopherson (Kingdom First)

The Kingdom of God Comes in Three Forms (Martyn Lloyd-Jones):
• The Kingdom Came in the Person of Jesus Christ - “The kingdom of God is in the midst of you.”Luke 17:21b

• The Kingdom Comes as People Surrender to Christ as Lord - “For the kingdom of God is…a matter…of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.”Romans 14:17

• The Kingdom will Come when Christ Returns in Glory - “And they sang a new song, saying, ‘Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.’”Revelation 5:9-10

Praying ‘Your Kingdom Come' is Asking God for Three Things:
• Jesus to Return to Make All Things New (Rev. 22:20b) - Come, Lord Jesus
• People to be Saved by the Gospel (Mark 1:14) - Repent/Believe the Gospel
• Earth to Look More like Heaven (Matt 4:23) – Spiritual/physical needs

If God said ‘yes’ to everything you asked him for in prayer over the last week, would anyone be blessed outside of you, or your family and friends? If so, you might not be praying in the will of God and for the kingdom of God according to Jesus!

“It is comparatively easy to repeat the words of the Lord’s Prayer like a parrot (or indeed a heathen ‘babbler’). To pray them with sincerity, however, has revolutionary implications, for it expresses the priorities of a Christian.” John Stott

Something powerful happens as we pray. Our minds, hearts, and lives begin to bend upward toward our Father (like a flower chasing sunlight) and it fundamentally changes our priorities and our purpose to the glory of God. So…PRAY!!!


Main Idea: Jesus Teaches that Prayer is Focused on Accomplishing God’s Will

II. Answered According to the Kingdom Around Us -“…on earth as it is in heaven.”Matthew 6:10b

God answers every prayer with one of three responses: 1) Yes, 2) No, or 3) Wait

“And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the request that we have asked of him.”1 John 5:14-15

“You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.”James 4:3-4 – World Values vs. Kingdom Values = Our Answer!

“The purpose of prayer is to glorify God’s name, & to ask for help to accomplish His will on earth. This prayer begins with God’s interest, not ours: God’s name, God’s kingdom, & God’s will…we have no right to ask God for anything that will dishonor His name, delay His kingdom, or disturb His will on earth.”Warren Wiersbe

Let’s put our prayers to the “so that” test, which can bring our motives to light. (i.e., Father provide for my financial needs SO THAT I can be even more generous to your kingdom work, provide this promotion SO THAT I can influence even more people with your love, heal this physical illness SO THAT I can serve you more faithfully without limitations, and so on…)

“Prayer is a mighty instrument, not for getting our will done in heaven, but for getting God’s will done on earth.”Robert Law

Main Idea: Jesus Teaches that Prayer is Focused on Accomplishing God’s Will

When we pray, we should pray like Jesus.

“And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, ‘My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will…My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.’…he went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same words again.”Matthew 26:39, 42b, 44b

It was Jesus’ willingness to lay aside his own will in deference to the Father’s will that makes it possible for sinners like us to be saved. Trust in Him!

Guided Prayer Time: Praying, Desiring the Will of God
• Aligning My Heart to the Kingdom – Father, let me see beyond my will…
• Asking God’s Kingdom to Come – Father, let your kingdom come by…


Sources & Further Reading Opportunities:
CSB Study Bible – Trevin Wax (2017)
Bible Exposition Commentary – Warren Wiersbe (1996)
Studies in the Sermon on the Mount – Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1976)
The Sermon on the Mount – R. Kent Hughes (2001)
Exploring the Gospel of Matthew – John Phillips (2014)
The Message of the Sermon on the Mount – John Stott (1985)
New American Commentary: Matthew – Craig Bloomburg (1992)
Word Pictures in the New Testament – A.T. Robertson (1933)
Tony Evans Study Bible – Tony Evans (2019)
Kingdom First – Jeff Christopherson (2015)