Scripture: Luke 11:2-3; Matthew 6:10-11
Thy Kingdom come. Thy Will be done On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread
Spiritual B3
Did you know that you are a part of the Kingdom of God and endowed with all the rights, privileges, and spiritual authority granted to every citizen of the Kingdom? One of the most difficult parts of my journey was having to take a medical leave from law school due to the neurological aftereffects of COVID-19 compounded with some the other challenges in my life at the time. I felt like a failure, but heard God clearly say I needed to let my mind heal and rest or I would have lasting impacts. My once agile mind that allowed me to get massive amounts of work done in a short period of time just wasn’t there anymore. In order to heal I had to focus on one thing, the Kingdom of God. It was like my mind stopped fully working, unless I was speaking or doing things for God.
Have you wrestled with what often feels like the competing interest of this life and the life you feel that Christ is calling you to lead? You are not alone, and this is a real thing. What Jesus is instructing us through the Model Prayer, is simply that we are to continually pray for the coming and advancing of the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God is where the will of God is done on earth as it is in heaven. The Kingdom of God is not a physical place, but a spiritual manifestation of the will of God done on earth within us and around us. We must pray, but we must also do! The more you pray and do, the stronger you become in the authority God has for us in prayer to turn around situations. The more I tapped in and surrendered to God’s will, the more I was amazed and felt His presence. But me let warn you, the more the devil started working on me as well.
In a sermon I explained it like the board game of Monopoly. But there are only two players, one working on behalf of the Kingdom of God, and the other working on behalf of the kingdom of this world. Both sides are doing everything they can gain control of the board and win the game by owning as much property as possible.
On my journey what really began challenging me was accepting that the game of monopoly was being played, first in my own life and second in the world all around me. My choices were the cash currency that enriched one side or the other to gain more territory. I had to begin accepting that every choice I was making was either advancing the Kingdom of God of the kingdom of this world. I had lived in a space of an attempted neutrality, where everything didn’t matter, but everything does matter. As we will study next week in Luke, Jesus said we are either gathering or scattering, we are either with Him or against Him. There is no middle ground. We are at war; spiritual warfare is real and present. We are the soldiers who first have to win the civil war going on within us daily. We must also gain new territory for the Kingdom of God. The good news is that we have been equipped with everything we need, we simply have to pray, activate it, live in it, and grow in it.
With all of the insanity going on around us, what if these are the last days and the return of Christ is imminent? Jesus is urging us in this moment to get serious because it looks like the enemy is winning, but it ain’t over yet!
CPR Kit for the Soul:
- Centering Theme: “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)
- Prayer Topic: Pray for the coming of the Kingdom of God, where the will of God is done on earth as it is in heaven.
- Reflection Thought: Am I willing to begin isolating my choices and going through the mental work to identify how they are advancing the Kingdom of God or the kingdom of this world?
T3 Prayer Booster:
- Dear Lord, please center my mind and heart on rejoicing, praying, and giving thanks. If I just start here daily, you will make up the difference and get me where You want me to be.
- Lord, Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Let it begin in me, and more it happens in me the more I will see it in the world around me.
- Father God help me to isolate my choices through meditation so that I can see the full import of how they advance one kingdom or another. Then Lord I pray that you will allow me to be more conscious of these choices and give me the strength I need to make better choices daily.
