Application: Prayer

"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.'" Matthew 6 : 9 - 10

When I think of prayer, I do not think of praying for the Kingdom of Heaven to break through on earth.  I think of praying for little things, like doing well on homework and not sliding on the ice.  While nothing is too little for God and too insignificant to be prayed for, the idea of praying for the kingdom of heaven seems really big.

It probably seems so big because the idea of the kingdom of heaven is so abstract.  But Kristen, our wonderful guest speaker, talked about an aspect of the kingdom of heaven that I haven't spent a lot of time thinking about before.  She talked of the kingdom of heaven in terms of the relationship between the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  A relationship that is loving, honest, pure, and affirming.  A relationship built on trust, free of fear, and based on being known. These characteristics are something we all long for but the relationships in our own personal kingdoms are severely lacking.

There are moments in our lives when these two kingdoms collide.  We struggle with the pull between our tendency towards sin and Jesus knocking to come in and take control.  If we choose to surrender during this moment of darkness we are choosing to let the kingdom of heaven break through in our lives and in the lives of others.  God's desire is to bring the kingdom of heaven to earth, and this can happen when we restore relationships.

The kingdom of heaven is so complex and so abstract that it is hard to wrap our minds around it.  God's will is for the kingdom of heaven to come to earth.  He wants us to experience the life available in that.  I think the kingdom of heaven changes for each person at different times in our lives. Right now, bringing the kingdom of heaven into your life may be restoring relationships; between you and others, and also between you and God. The kingdom of heaven can also break through on our campus or somewhere else in the world and maybe thats where you feel called right now.

This is an amazing invitation to pray and what a blessing it is to ask God to bring His kingdom onto earth.  Kristen challenged us to pray everyday for one week and ask how to bring the kingdom of heaven into your life, your campus, or your world.  She encouraged us to pray the prayer "God, do what only You can do and help us to do what we can do."  God has some amazing plans and what a blessing to be a small part of that.

In the comments share some of your thoughts.

Are you up for the challenge?  Will you be praying for the kingdom to come into your life?  How will that look for you right now?  Do you want to see a change in your life?  Are you dreaming for our campus?  Is there another place that is on your heart?

Prayer is an amazing opportunity we get to talk to God and I think that is often forgotten.  I know there are people that would love to talk to you if you have further questions, so ask in the comments.  I recommend coming to prayer group.  I think so much can come from being vulnerable with each other in the presence of God and I have had some great experiences in that, so it would be wonderful to see you all there.

P.S. I have some insider information for you about the comments.  You are now able to comment via your facebook account which is fun, but if you have something to say but want to remain anonymous, then in the email section, just write anonymous@gmail.com.  The email doesn't need to be valid and that is a way for you to remain unknown!