Day 14: Your Kingdom Come
Bible passage: Matthew 6:9–13; Isaiah 58:6–12
The Prayer Jesus Gave Us
Today is Thursday 14th of January 2021. Welcome to Day 14 of our 21 Days of Prayer and Fasting. Two weeks are complete. Today we come to the prayer that Jesus Himself taught.
His disciples had watched Him pray, and they asked Him to teach them (Luke 11:1). He gave them a pattern to follow. Near the beginning of it are these words. “May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.” Matthew 6:10 (NLT)
What We Are Asking For
Heaven’s Way, Here
In heaven, God’s will is done completely and gladly. There is no sickness there, no injustice and no grief. When we pray these words we are asking for that reality to break into this one: into our homes, our streets and our city.
His Name Before Our Needs
Look at the order of the prayer. It begins with the Father’s name, His kingdom and His will. Only then does it turn to our daily bread, our forgiveness and our protection.
Our needs matter, and Jesus tells us to ask for them. But prayer begins by putting God back at the centre. When He is in His right place, everything else finds its place too.
My Will Surrendered
We cannot sincerely pray for God’s will to be done while we insist on our own. Jesus prayed this prayer at the greatest cost. In the garden of Gethsemane He asked His Father for the Father’s will to be done and not His own (Luke 22:42).
God does not force His will on us. He invites us to say yes to it, with trust and with gladness.
The Fast God Chooses
More Than Going Without
In Isaiah 58, God speaks to people who were fasting faithfully and treating one another badly. He tells them what kind of fast He is looking for. Set free those who are wrongly imprisoned. Lift the burden from those who work for you. Share your food with the hungry, give shelter to the homeless and clothe those who need it (Isaiah 58:6–7).
Then, He says, your light will break out like the dawn. You will call, and the Lord will answer. You will be like a well-watered garden (Isaiah 58:8–11). James says something similar. The religion that God accepts means caring for orphans and widows in their distress (James 1:27).
When we pray for God’s kingdom to come, we are offering ourselves as part of the answer.
Three Steps for Today
Say yes. Is there an area where you know what God wants and have been holding out? Surrender it to Him today.
Pray it over a place. Name your street, your workplace or your school, and ask for God’s kingdom to come there.
Be the answer. Who near you is lonely, struggling or forgotten? Do one practical thing for them this week.
Tomorrow we begin the final week of our fast, and we turn our eyes to the cross and the empty tomb.
Prayer for Today:
Our Father in heaven, may Your name be kept holy. May Your kingdom come and Your will be done, in my life as it is in heaven. I surrender the areas where I have been holding on to my own way. Open my eyes to the people You want me to bless, and make me part of the answer to my own prayers. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Keep going
See every day of this guide on our Prayer & Fasting page.
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