Our Father...Sample

Kingdom First

Whose kingdom are you building today, yours or God's?

When Jesus taught his disciples to pray, he included this bold line: “your kingdom come, your will be done.” These words are more than spiritual language, they are a declaration of allegiance. To pray them is to surrender control. It’s an act of humility that reorders our lives under God's rule.

In Jesus’ time, kingdom language had political and personal implications. A kingdom meant a real authority, a real king, and real obedience. When Jesus proclaimed the arrival of God’s kingdom, it meant that a new order was breaking in, one that would challenge injustice, heal the broken, and transform hearts. To pray for God’s kingdom to come is to long for that reality to be made manifest here and now.

This prayer stretches us. It asks us to want what God wants more than what we want. This echoes Jesus’ own words in Gethsemane, where he prayed, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done” (Luke 22:42, NIV). Surrender marks a spiritually mature heart, one that prays with trust, obedience, and hope.

So today, ask: where do I need God’s kingdom to come, in my thoughts, in my relationships, in my city? And am I willing to follow where his will leads?

Prayer:
God, let your kingdom come. Let your will shape my desires, my decisions, and my direction. I surrender the places where I’ve clung to my own plans. Lead me with wisdom and grace.