“Father, we pray for those in positions of leadership and authority. That your voice will guide decisions for the good of our communities.”
“Since we are receiving a Kingdom that is unshakable, let us be thankful and please God by worshiping him with holy fear and awe.”
Hebrews 12:28 NLT
Living in a liberal democracy, it is difficult to imagine what living within a kingdom really looks like. Although the UK has a monarch as head of state, the Queen has major constraints placed on her. She is head of state but a parliamentary democracy of elected politicians exercises the authority to determine the laws that govern us. The monarchy would not survive long were it to try to assert any form of direct rule.
A kingdom in the proper sense of the word is ruled by a monarch who has absolute power over their kingdom, its laws and its people. If the monarch decides to financially enrich himself and those he chooses at a whim, they can! His authority is absolute. Harsh and unappealing as such a structure sounds, this is the foundation for God’s kingdom. God in three persons is absolute monarch and demands total obedience from all subjects.
My faith has been most tested when I appeal to my rights under the law in addressing God. Surely my faithfulness does not deserve a lack of favour from my God? And herein lies the problem, for I am under grace, not law. I must embrace life’s experience and seek to discover God within it, regardless of the apparent inequality between different human experiences,
Thus the philosopher’s problem with an all-sufficient God. How can it be that some are dealt a favourable hand in life, while others endure unimaginable suffering? A liberal democracy calls us to political protest and direct action, seeking change. Human effort creates a better society for all. Yet God’s kingdom is not of this world and so we are in fact being equipped to live and serve God’s kingdom project both in the here and now and throughout eternity.
QUESTION
What is your biggest challenge right now in praying “your Kingdom come?
PRAYER
Father, Son and Holy Spirit, may my heart desire your kingdom above my own, your will not my will, and your purpose in all things. Give me eyes to discern your kingdom way, and hands that work in collaboration with your Holy Spirit to build that kingdom here on the earth. I entrust myself to you once more this day.
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