I wanted to write down a few thoughts from today's sermon at my church so that hopefully it will help me remember them and encourage myself (and maybe someone else) towards proper focus/priorities in life.
We've been studying the Lord's prayer and prayer in general. Today we looked at the phrase, "Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven," from Matthew 6:10. The point that was made was that each day should be lived looking for and praying for God's kingdom to come - for his return and his kingdom to be set up on earth. I don't know about you, but I tend to think that it's been thousands of year since Christ was here and people have been looking for him to come since then so what is the likelihood that it will be happening tomorrow. I do know and believe the signs are here that the end of the age is coming, but somehow I tend to live my live day by day, not really expecting the Lord to come tomorrow or praying for his return.
Our pastor talked about how when we start our prayer time, we should first start by seeing things in view of Jesus' return so that our life is oriented around carrying out the Great Commission and living the day for him. Then as we pray we're ready to pray less selfishly and more according to his will for us. So often we get so caught up in the day-by-day living and things that we want to see happen that we forget that ultimately, all that matters is Jesus and his kingdom and his will to be done. So my goal will be to start my prayer time with praising God and praying about his kingdom and his return and seeing what place he has for me in carrying out his work.
Matthew 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God (not my selfish pursuits or desires), and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
