She Reads Truth: Kingdom Praying

As I am catching up on my Bible app plans, I came across the following Devotional; when describes (confirms) the entire purpose I had in mind when it was chosen. I hope as you read the words you feel them in your Heart as encouragement to continue or as a slight nudge you may have been seeking or ignoring. 

I pray whichever the case, you'll allow The Creator of your Soul to complete the work in you that only you were Destined to Fulfill. 

Namasté

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

App: Youversion 

Plan: She Reads Truth: Prayer in the Bible

Kingdom Praying

“Thy kingdom come.” (Matthew 6:10, KJV)

When Jesus teaches the disciples how to pray in Matthew 6, the very first instruction He gives in the prayer pattern is kingdom praying. If ever we needed an indication of how important it is to pray for His Kingdom, it is here. But what exactly are we praying for when we are praying kingdom prayers?

If prayers of praise are turning our focus upward, and prayers of confession turn our focus inward, prayers for His kingdom turn our focusoutward. Often, we don’t make these prayers a priority because we are too focused on our “stuff,” and it is here that we are missing the forest for the trees.

Kingdom praying is asking God to bring Heaven here to earth, to marry His space with ours, to accomplish His plan. Can you imagine if we started all our prayers here? Matthew 6:33 says to “seek first His kingdom.” What would happen if we didn’t pray for our Earthly needs first, but for those things that matter for eternity?

We may not make an impact on the kingdom of God when we get our prayers answered for that new job, physical healing or clear direction on how to fix a temporary problem. But we can open the door for God to work when we pray for the Gospel to be spread, when we pray for food for the hungry, when we pray for freedom for the enslaved, when we pray for the Lord to “send out workers into His harvest field.” (Luke 10:2, NIV)

And truly, when we are praying for this forest, we are still praying for the trees.  We are a part of His kingdom, and when we turn our attention to the things He cares about, then we are opening the door for Him to bless us as well.

Turn your attention outward, sisters. See this world through His eyes, with the love He has for His creation. See His grief for the bruised and scarred state we’re in.  And pray.

“Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.”  

Join the SheReadsTruth Community: http://bit.ly/PrayerDay15

Thought I'd Share...

Practicing Petition

Practice makes perfect - and that is what we strive for in our lives spiritually (to be like Christ). While we understand that we’ll never achieve perfection here on earth, part of God’s will for us is to strive for a closer relationship with His perfection. It is His ongoing act of sanctification in our lives.

Today sisters, let’s begin to practice how we approach the Lord with our petitions in life. No matter how great or small your desires may seem, they are important to you, and therefore, important to Him. Like the familiar words in Joseph Scriven’s hymn, “What a Friend We Have in Jesus” remind us:

“What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear! What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer! O what peace we often forfeit,O what needless pain we bear, all because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.”

We can come to Him for safety, for wisdom, with our desires, and more. Scripture tells us to be persistent, to approach God boldly, and to rest in knowing that He loves us like children and wants to give us good gifts. And in the gospel, Christ demonstrates the importance of praying that God’s will be done above all.

For today, let’s practice biblical petition together - use a journal if you’d like:

• Thank God for being your Father who you can trust to provide and care for you. Repent if you find that you’ve kept  your petitions, needs, desires from Him.

• Call to mind some things you can ask your Father for.

• Be specific when you pray. Don’t be afraid that He can’t handle your needs and desires.

• Be bold in what you ask. We might forget that simply because something seems impossible to us, nothing is impossible for our Lord.

End with the simple words, “Not my will, but yours be done.” As hard as this may be to say, begin to trust that God has “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11 NIV)   Join the SheReadsTruth Community: bit.ly/SRTPrayerDay10