Matthew 6:10 NIV
“…Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”
As in His own life, so Jesus taught His disciples that their first consideration should be the Father’s business…His kingdom and His will. Prayer, after all, is His idea and is about Him. Our wants, needs, and human frailties must always take second place to His will and purposes.
“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”
Matthew 6:33 NIV
We start with the bigger picture. God’s design was to create a place for the crown of His creation, humans, to live and to serve their apprenticeship for their ultimate role as co-heirs with Jesus and co-rulers of the planet. His plan was to join earth with heaven, so that He could always be with His family in union and communion.
Although the first man blew God’s intention out of the water, God had already devised a rescue plan before the disaster happened. He planned that humans would work with Him to restore the earth to its original purpose, and to restore His image in the people on it, by conforming them to the image of His Son and His pattern for living.
Prayer is God’s chosen way of communication between the Father and His sons and daughters. Through our Mediator, Jesus, and our Helper, the Holy Spirit, and the many facets of prayer…worship, adoration, meditation, intercession, petition, etc…that enable us to draw near to God, He plants His seed, His word…His promises…in our spiritual “womb”. Through our faith and patience, He brings them to birth in His time and in His way.
God always works through His word, and He guarantees that His word will always accomplish His purposes. He uses our declaration of His word in our prayers as a bridge between heaven and earth to carry out His will on earth.
God values this partnership in prayer since it is His way of including His family in His redemptive work on earth. As we recognise, acknowledge, and submit to His authority, we bring to Him, in prayer, the issues that concern us in our “world” of circumstances and events.
He gives us, in response, His solution, His word which is the expression of His will. Now let’s look at the Scriptures that show us how this works.
“His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.”
2 Peter 1:3-4 NIV
This is God’s blueprint for prayer. His promises are His way of telling us what His will is and what He plans to do. How do we implement His plans on earth?
“For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God.”
2 Corinthians 1:20 NIV
“Amen” means “Let it be as you have said.” Can you see how simple God has made it for us to partner with Him? He speaks His promises in heaven…He authorises us to speak His promises on earth…and His word does the work on earth through two agencies…
His power,
“For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.”
Hebrews 4:12-13 NIV
And our participation,
“Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.”
James 5:14-16 NIV
Did you get the impact of James’ final statement?
Prayer…powerful and effective…speaking God’s word to accomplish His will on earth. However, the key to this transfer is faith!
Now, Jesus told us, in a nutshell, how to transfer heaven’s will to earth’s needs by the bridge of His spoken word.
“The Lord gives the word, and a great army brings the good news.”
Psalms 68:11 NLT
“It is written: “I believed; therefore I have spoken.” Since we have that same spirit of faith, we also believe and therefore speak,”
2 Corinthians 4:13 NIV
What a world of possibilities, adventures, miracles, is contained in Jesus’ simple prayer. When we
harness God’s word as Jesus taught His disciples to do, God releases His power on earth to move His redemptive plan forward wherever