The Importance of PrayerSample

Prayer Advances God’s Kingdom

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 requests that we have asked of him. 1 John 5:14-15

Dear friend, praying for God’s will to be done and for His kingdom to come in our own lives is only the very beginning of prayer!

Did you know that God invites you and I to partner with Him to establish His kingdom on this earth? It is a mighty privilege that we have as His disciples to intercede on behalf of the people around us!

God so longs to see our world and the people in it transformed, liberated, healed, made whole, and living according to His kingdom culture.

Being God, He could do this by Himself. He really doesn’t need our help. And yet, He wants to work with us. It is His joy to work with us, dear friend!

As He invites us to align our will to His, what He is asking of us is that we care about the things that He cares about. He wants us to be burdened about the things He’s burdened about. And He wants us to have compassion for those He has compassion for. Prayer is so important because it aligns our hearts to the heart of God.

Alan Scott, in his book Scattered Servants, writes this: “God began speaking [to me] about His friends far from church. I realised my concerns and His weren’t the same, though I naively thought they were. This was what was breaking my heart. I had grieved His heart by ignoring His heart. I had ignored His heart by forgetting those who were far from Him.”

Beloved, as those who know God, who are beneficiaries of His goodness and His grace, and who have the keys to bring kingdom transformation, we cannot ignore the heart of our God. We must seek to look ever outward to the hurting world and to those who are broken and in need of God.

1 John 5:14-15 assures us that we can have confidence when we pray for God’s will to be done in our world. As we read God’s Word and find out about what His kingdom is like, and as we pray for His will to be done on earth, we can rest assured that He will hear us and answer us.

God wants us to pray His will into action, dear friend. So let us ask Him today what is on His heart for the world and for those around us.

Reflection:

Ask God these questions today and ask what His will is. Then pray.

What is happening in the world that does not align with His kingdom?

Who in my community/nation/workplace needs God’s healing, grace, and transformation?

Prayer:

Lord,

I acknowledge that so much of my prayer life looks like me praying for my life and my concerns. Forgive me for not looking outward and for ignoring what’s on Your heart. Lord, show me what or who is on Your heart today. Please show me how I can pray for Your will to be done and for Your kingdom to come in this world. Thank You for wanting to work with me.

I love You, amen.