Thy Kingdom Come

Dear Heavenly Father,

Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven.

How many things, Lord, do we pray that we do not understand? How many things do we read in the Bible that are marvelous revelations, yet we just skim over them, missing the message?

Father, I am thankful for every revelation you’ve given me, and with a broken heart I pray to you. I thought it was anger, but it is not anger — it is compassion and disappointment mixed together.

Father God, what is the difference between the Church and the Kingdom? Father, I love the Church, but how lost the American Church is.

Since I was a young girl, I sat in the pews and wondered why I didn’t see the things preached about being lived out. I would read your Word and believe, then go to church and hear miraculous truths watered down — completely losing their power. I trusted groupthink over the plain text. It has taken years to know you for who you are and to accept and understand what it means to be a part of the Kingdom.

I realize that most people in the church are truly trying. Father, you know our hearts. I am not all-knowing, and my understanding is finite. But I believe where our error lies is in grieving the Holy Spirit. At some point, do we not hear your voice and your heart enough to realize something is missing? When our lives aren’t filled with the power you speak of in the New Testament? When we look more like the world than we do the Christ?

I have compassion, Father God, because so many of us were taught that you do not speak — that you are a distant God with a rulebook to follow. A cookie-cutter way of being that actually traps us from becoming all you created us to be, while robbing you of your glory.

Father, I think about all those who have searched for truth and longed for your love, yet could not find the life-transforming power they needed from you. I hurt because I know we do not fight against flesh and blood, but against spirits of darkness — spirits of legalism, pride, and confusion.

What a powerful tactic of Satan: to allow us to “believe” in a Christianity void of power. House us all together. Don’t let us truly believe. Don’t let us believe that the same Spirit who raised the Son of God from the dead lives in us. Don’t let us believe that God gave us purpose and authority. Don’t let us believe that we are part of a PRESENT kingdom. Don’t let us believe that you are active and speaking. As long as we read our Bible, show up to church, and think we’re doing alright… then Satan is alright.

What an excellent scheme. But I am praying against it in the name of Jesus.

So many of your children, Lord, have searched for you and found only this lie. In their soul, nothing resonated. Then they left the church, lost hope of ever finding you, and completely deconstructed — often turning to harmful things in their search for meaning and identity. Father, I pray your people stand. That those who are in your Kingdom take position. That distractions be limited. I pray we can lead others to know you and to be a part of the Kingdom, not just the American Church.

I remember being a child, Lord, asking you how to bring people to know you. My first thought was, “Bring them to church.” But then I wondered, “Well, then what? They do what I do? Go to church? And then what?” Father, I was in elementary or middle school. My spirit knew there was more, but I didn’t yet have the answers.

And it’s confusing, Lord, because the Church has also been where I was introduced to the idea of you. The Church has been a place of love, mercy, friendship, and a safe space for me throughout my entire life. I love the Church. But, Lord, my heart breaks.

I pray for a spiritual awakening, a deeper understanding of your love. I pray that we know the Christ who is alive. I pray that the power of the Holy Spirit lives in us. I pray that we discover our identity and walk in our purpose.

I pray for those who are already fully walking in your Kingdom — those bringing others to know the true you, those living abroad as martyrs, those who are prayer warriors, evangelists, and servants. I pray for those living on mission, Lord.

Father, you are all-wise. I pray that you move. Can you revive what is dead? Can you bring to life what never was? You can.

You said that many will say, “Lord, Lord, we did things in your name,” and you will reply, “Get away from me, I never knew you.” Father, so many in the Church are in this category, and I know it breaks your heart. You long for us to know the true you. You long for us to believe. You long for your prized possession to be connected with you. You long to say, “Well done, my good and faithful servant.”

Father, revive us. Send an extra blessing, an extra level of spiritual clarity. Make your voice louder than every distraction. Give these gifts to every person who is seeking you or who has wondered about you. Father, protect us from evil. Empower those who truly know you to stand firm.

I pray these things in Jesus’ holy name,
Amen.