Culture of the Kingdom
Today’s Topic: Prayer: The King and the Kingdom
Scripture: Matthew 6:9,10,33; Isaiah 55:8,9; Proverbs 14:2
Greetings Kingdom Citizens
We left off discussing Jesus preparing to teach His disciples about prayer and He tells then not to use vain repetition because your Father already knows what you have need of. So if God the Father already knows what you need then what can you ask for? Let's look at the model prayer in Matthew 6:9,10.
Now it is royal protocol that when you come into the presence of the King you acknowledge Him first then make your request. So in Matthew 6:9 we have the salutation: Our Father which art in Heaven, Hallowed be thy name. So now you acknowledge His Majesty and you have His attention, now make your request and I pray every person reads this until it seeps through every part of your being. The first request you make to the Lord is in Maathew 6:10:
"Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth as it is in Heaven"
Why would you make that the first request? The Kingdom of God is the governing rule and power over a domain impacting it with His Will and purpose. The domain God wants to rule and impact is the hearts of man. So when you make that request you are inviting the power and governing rule of God to come into your life and you submit that rulership so that the Will of God come come into the earth. See you must understand it is already done in Heaven. We want it manifested down in the earth. God gave authority to man in earth. It is only through prayer and the willingness of man can God come in and impact the Earth. Weird? Not really, ask Noah, Abraham, Moses and even better look at the life of Jesus. But that request should not surprise the Kingdom citizens because later in the same chapter Jesus says this:
" But seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you." (Matthew 6:33)
So even in prayer we need to seek the Kingdom first and His righteousness. What is His righteousness? Let's look at these two scriptures for an answer.
Proverbs 14:12: There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death
Isaiah 55:8,9: For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
Righteousness is about being in proper alignment with God. That means following His decrees and directions He gives us to follow through on. So we are to seek the Kingdom and God's way of doing things. So even in prayer our first request is the Kingdom and His Will, the Heart of God.
At the Father’s Service,
Elder Calvin Calhoun Jr.
