THY Kingdom Come

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
-Romans 12:1-2

Jesus spoke many parables about God’s Kingdom.  Those parables were often confusing and felt contradictory to what the people had been taught by their religious teachers.  Jesus wanted to correct and expand people’s understanding of who God was and what God was about in the world.  The Pharisees and teachers of the law wanted to hold on to what little power they had acquired and worked tirelessly to keep everyone else in line with them.  Jesus turned all of that on its head.

God’s Kingdom is what we pray for, not ours.  It goes against our human nature and desire for power and control.  Even if we don’t feel as though we have much influence or “power” in the world, we still want control over our own autonomy.  That is why it is so difficult as we age to give up driving – it means losing our freedom.  When we truly pray for God’s Kingdom to come, we are trusting that God knows better and more than we do.  It means we are willing to accept that God’s will might not match up with ours.  We truly accept that God is driving, and we say, “Jesus take the wheel.”  In order to accomplish this and participate with God in creating God’s Kingdom on earth as it is in heaven, we must change our minds.  This is the “renewing of our minds” that Paul wrote about in Romans 12.

We keep praying daily that we will work with God and not hinder Thy Kingdom come.

Each section of the Lord’s Prayer aligns with the key themes of Lent: repentance, dependence, provision, forgiveness, and spiritual strength. This week we focus on working for God’s Kingdom and will to be done on earth.

Please join us this season of Lent for a weekly prayer service each Wednesday at 6:30pm in the Main Sanctuary as we practice each portion of the Lord’s Prayer together.

PRAYER
One: Lord, You placed the Sun, moon and stars in the sky.
You created every form of life on earth and everywhere we see life.
You were before time, in time and will remain beyond time…and that is only the beginning of the mysteries that surround you.

All: And yet…by sending Jesus, your Son, you have invited us into a loving, intimate and real relationship. And through his teachings, you encourage us to bring our needs before you.

One: We are challenged to let go of our will and trust in your will.  For our lives and livelihoods, for our families and friends, for our country and for this world.

All: Lord, in your mercy, help our unbelief. Help us truly let go of the desires we have that are tinged by our residence in this world. Help us to embrace your desires for this world and live as though we are already in the Kingdom to come.  We lift our hearts to you, giving you glory, honor and praise. And we give you every need, every desire, every dream in the name of Jesus the Christ.  Amen.