She Reads Truth: Prayer in the Bibleናሙና

Kingdom Praying

“Thy kingdom come.” (Matthew 6:10, KJV)

When Jesus teaches the disciples how to pray in Matthew 6, the very first instruction He gives in the prayer pattern is kingdom praying. If ever we needed an indication of how important it is to pray for His Kingdom, it is here. But what exactly are we praying for when we are praying kingdom prayers?

If prayers of praise are turning our focus upward, and prayers of confession turn our focus inward, prayers for His kingdom turn our focus outward. Often, we don’t make these prayers a priority because we are too focused on our “stuff,” and it is here that we are missing the forest for the trees.

Kingdom praying is asking God to bring Heaven here to earth, to marry His space with ours, to accomplish His plan. Can you imagine if we started all our prayers here? Matthew 6:33 says to “seek first His kingdom.” What would happen if we didn’t pray for our Earthly needs first, but for those things that matter for eternity?

We may not make an impact on the kingdom of God when we get our prayers answered for that new job, physical healing or clear direction on how to fix a temporary problem. But we can open the door for God to work when we pray for the Gospel to be spread, when we pray for food for the hungry, when we pray for freedom for the enslaved, when we pray for the Lord to “send out workers into His harvest field.” (Luke 10:2, NIV)

And truly, when we are praying for this forest, we are still praying for the trees.  We are a part of His kingdom, and when we turn our attention to the things He cares about, then we are opening the door for Him to bless us as well.

Turn your attention outward, sisters. See this world through His eyes, with the love He has for His creation. See His grief for the bruised and scarred state we’re in.  And pray.

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