Jesus' Prayer - God's Plan

Intro:
Have you ever been involved in a building project? Have you ever built a home or worked for a company that built commercial buildings? If you have ever been around the construction process then you know that one of the most important parts of the process are the blueprints.

This document tells everyone on the project what the finished product looks like. This document keeps people accountable to the outcome. This document allows plumbers and electricians and many other disciplines to work together for a common purpose. Blueprints.

The blueprint is the final document of the architect. He is the master designer of the project. He is the one that gathers all the data, envisions the end product and produces a document that everyone can use to complete that building.

In this section of the Jesus’ prayer we are introduced to God as Architect. He has a plan for our lives, a purpose He wants us to complete (Eph. 2:10). He has a blueprint in heaven that He is using to build His kingdom from. We are part of that plan. We are laborers building the house with the Architect (Hebrews 11:10).

Read: Matthew 6:9-13
9Pray like this: ‘Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy. 10Let your Kingdom come. Let your will be done, as in heaven, so on earth. 11Give us today our daily bread. 12Forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors. 13Bring us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For yours is the Kingdom, the power, and the glory forever. Amen.’

Think:
God has a plan, a will. He has a blueprint in heaven that he wants done on earth. In verse 10, Jesus tells his listeners to tell God to bring His plan … to allow His plan to work on earth.

The Greek literally reads like this: “Come the kingdom of You, allow to come into being the will of You.” We pray authoritatively that God’s kingdom comes and invades the earth and that His will is thereby brought to bear on the earth. We seek to remove all things that might keep Him from having full reign on earth.

God’s kingdom is bigger than a church or a denomination. God’s kingdom is both here and not yet. It is here: when a person gets saved, when demonic spirits are thwarted, when God takes back some ground in someone’s life, when Jesus Christ is made visible to the world through His Church. It is not yet: one Day Jesus will burst through the clouds and the kingdom of God will have come indeed!

So, how do you know what God wants? Clearly Jesus expected God to answer this in prayer. When we pray God will let us know what he wants.

Do:
Someone once said, “For God’s kingdom to come, my kingdom must go.” Think through that. How do you start your day? How dominant is your schedule? How open are you to change in your routine? Ask God to make His kingdom real through you and in you this day!

I’ve heard many Christians ask, “How can I know what God wants?
1. Pray and ask Him (Matthew 6:10)
2. Surrender to Him (Hebrews 12:1)
3. Have your mind transformed by the Word of God (Hebrews 12:2)
4. Seek godly counsel

When you pray today through this portion of Jesus’ prayer, ask God boldly to return. Ask for His kingdom to come today. If He chooses that it is “not yet” then ask Him to bring His kingdom to the lives of the people you meet today.

To close, listen to “Kingdom Come” in the Worship Center below.

DevoLink: Devotions to help you Link with God.