Prayer’s Priority

Prayer’s Priority

Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Matthew 6:33, ESV

EVERYONE WHO PRAYS is asking for a kingdom to come. The question is, whose kingdom? We instinctively pray for our own agendas—often very legitimate, understandable requests for our lives to go well, our loved ones to be taken care of, provision in times of need, and protection in times of fear. Nothing is wrong with those prayers, but they do need to be set into a larger context. We are not called to make sure things go right in our own little world. We are called to seek the Kingdom of God—the culture of his realm and righteousness (justice, goodness, truth)—in every area of life.

On the surface, that may not change the content of our prayers much, but it will change our perspective of them. It’s one thing to pray for increased provision for us to do with as we please, and it’s another to pray for increased provision so we may use wealth as a Kingdom blessing. There’s nothing wrong with praying for health and wellness, but that prayer gains power when we’re praying to be well as vessels of Kingdom values and truths. That doesn’t mean we are forbidden from praying any prayer that benefits us. God is a giver of wonderfully extravagant gifts. But the point is not just to receive a blessing. It’s to see ourselves as those who have been blessed in order to bless others. We are citizens of a greater Kingdom than our own.

Pray all those prayers that are on your heart with faith and fervency. But pray them with full awareness that your highest priority in this life—the entire reason God put you on this planet—is to live out his Kingdom values, character, and ways. You are a carrier not only of the Kingdom culture but of the King. Everything you seek, even if it benefits yourself, should come in the context of your Kingdom citizenship and your longing to see his Kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven. When God’s children have that perspective, he can trust them with their desires. And he adds all sorts of blessings to their Kingdom-focused prayers.

Before we can pray, “Thy kingdom come,” we must be willing to pray, “My kingdom go.”