Week 25 Day 1
Pray:
Ask God to reorient you to Himself. Confess any known sin. Thank Him for His forgiveness. Be still and reflect on Jesus and His sacrifice for you. Ask the Holy Spirit to open your heart and mind to God’s Word. Pray for others in your life that they, too, would know and love God today.
Read:
Matt. 6:9-13 This, then, is how you should pray: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.”
Reflect:
Jesus inaugurated the Kingdom in his first advent. He will consummate the Kingdom in his second advent. Right now, we live “between” the times of the first and second advents. The Kingdom is “already, but not yet.” It is “already” in that Christ reigns in the hearts of his people, and he is transforming them from the inside out. It is “not yet” in that his reign is not yet fully visible and experienced in its power. Therefore, in this in-between time, we pray for his kingdom to come and his will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. The Kingdom of God is the place where what God wants done, is done. Because God has given human beings choice, we can choose to not do his will (and very often this is what we choose). This prayer for his kingdom to come has many implications, but one that is very important is that as his people, we must come to fully and joyfully yield to his will in our lives. If you are a follower of Christ, his kingdom has come in your life. But you still live in a personal “already, not yet.” You are his and you want what he wants and, yet, you often find yourself wanting what is in opposition to what he wants. This prayer for his will to be done is not a generic prayer of global impact, but it is a personal prayer of immediate impact. Today, make it your prayer and your intention that his kingdom and his reign be fully manifested in your life. Today, move through your day as a joyful, loyal subject of a kingdom, a kingdom with a good and wise king. Believe this to be true so that you will value his will for your life. As you value his will, as his will actually seems like the highest good you could do, you will be positioned to do his will. Believe that you are a subject in a kingdom. Value the king’s will for your life. Do what the king wants done. Experience the beauty of life in the kingdom of God today. You can close the gap in your life today. Choose your trajectory by pointing your heart and mind in his direction.
Pray:
(Personalize this prayer today; make it specific to the circumstances that face you.)
Ask God to lead you through His Spirit as you go through your day. Ask Him to bring to mind the truth of the gospel and its implications for what you will encounter today. Tell Him “Yes” to His will and ask Him for His power and protection to live this “yes.” Ask God to create and reveal opportunities to proclaim the good news today.