"A Dangerous Prayer"

Listen to the full June 25 Bible study from Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church here.

Devotional Title:

A Dangerous Prayer: “Thy Kingdom Come”

Scripture Focus:“Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”

Matthew 6:10 (NIV)

Reflection:

Most of us pray for what feels comfortable. We ask God for provision, protection, and peace. But when Jesus taught His disciples to pray “Your Kingdom come,” He was inviting them into a dangerous and radical kind of prayer. It is one that requires total surrender and complete trust in God’s reign. This prayer is dangerous because it means giving up control. It means releasing our own plans, our sense of what is best, and the areas of life we prefer to manage ourselves. It invites God to take authority over every part of our lives, not just the parts we are willing to hand over. It is radical because it disrupts the way things are. This prayer calls for God’s justice to confront oppression, for His peace to invade places of chaos, and for His truth to replace lies we have believed. It challenges the systems around us and the broken places within us. It demands that we lay aside personal kingdoms and priorities so that God’s will can be accomplished in and through us.

And here’s the honest truth: If God’s Kingdom truly came today, things would have to change, including us.

When we pray this, we are not just asking for a future heaven. We are inviting God’s Kingdom to be realized in our personal lives, our communities, and the world around us right now. It means letting His peace govern our hearts today, His justice shape our relationships, and His authority guide our decisions.

Devotional Thought:

Pause and reflect: Where in your life have you asked God to visit…but not to reign?What areas have you left off-limits to His authority?

The Kingdom comes when pride moves aside.

The Kingdom comes when obedience outweighs personal opinion.

The Kingdom comes when we stop chasing our own crowns and start chasing His will.

Prayer:

God, today I dare to pray a dangerous prayer. I pray, “Your Kingdom come.” Not just in the world, but in me as well. Let Your authority govern my choices, my conversations, and my desires today. Let Your peace calm the chaos in my heart. Let Your justice be made visible through my words and actions. Help me to lay down my crown and allow You to reign in every part of my life, both the clean places and the ones I have tried to hide.

May Your Kingdom come, and may it begin with me.

In the name of the one who taught us how to pray, Jesus Christ name, Amen.

Challenge:

Today, name one area of your life where you have been holding the crown.

Surrender it to God. And ask Him to reign there.