February 8th Devotion
Your Kingdom Come – Alistair Begg
Your kingdom come. Luke 11:2
The kingdom of God is vastly different from any earthly kingdom that has existed or will exist. Earthly kingdoms are under the sway of sovereigns whose power is limited and will inevitably decline. But God’s kingdom is far more than a geopolitical entity or piece of history. It is everlasting, universal, and personal, and His dominion over it will endure throughout all generations (Psalm 145:13).
We must keep these truths in mind when we pray, “Your kingdom come.” When we follow Jesus’ example and pray like this, one of the things we are asking is that God’s sovereign rule might increasingly be established in our hearts and lives. We are praying that those who know Christ might live in increasing, joyful submission to His rule.
This is a vastly different worldview from any we’re confronted with on a daily basis. Mostly, today’s Western culture praises personal achievement and self-sufficiency. We’re encouraged to believe that we are in control. But when God’s kingdom comes into our lives—when we pray for Jesus to take His rightful place upon the throne of our heart—a revolution takes place. We are no longer slaves to sin. The King of creation resides in our lives and begins conforming us to the image of His Son (Romans 8:29). When we pray in this way, the Holy Spirit ministers to us by establishing God’s kingly rule over every dimension of our lives.
And that’s not all. When we pray “Your kingdom come,” we are also acknowledging that God is King of the nations—that He reigns over all the affairs of time. Isaiah describes God as whistling for the nations to come “from the ends of the earth; and behold, quickly, speedily they come!” (Isaiah 5:26). The King summons the nations as we might call a family dog to come inside. When He whistles, they run to do His bidding.
We need not be panic-stricken or tyrannized, then, by any shift in earthly powers. Instead, we can rejoice in the Lord our King, who is sovereign over all these things.
His kingdom cannot fail,
He rules o’er earth and heav’n;
The keys of death and hell
Are to our Jesus giv’n:
Lift up your heart,
Lift up your voice!
Rejoice, again I say, rejoice!
Your kingdom come. Luke 11:2
The kingdom of God is vastly different from any earthly kingdom that has existed or will exist. Earthly kingdoms are under the sway of sovereigns whose power is limited and will inevitably decline. But God’s kingdom is far more than a geopolitical entity or piece of history. It is everlasting, universal, and personal, and His dominion over it will endure throughout all generations (Psalm 145:13).
We must keep these truths in mind when we pray, “Your kingdom come.” When we follow Jesus’ example and pray like this, one of the things we are asking is that God’s sovereign rule might increasingly be established in our hearts and lives. We are praying that those who know Christ might live in increasing, joyful submission to His rule.
This is a vastly different worldview from any we’re confronted with on a daily basis. Mostly, today’s Western culture praises personal achievement and self-sufficiency. We’re encouraged to believe that we are in control. But when God’s kingdom comes into our lives—when we pray for Jesus to take His rightful place upon the throne of our heart—a revolution takes place. We are no longer slaves to sin. The King of creation resides in our lives and begins conforming us to the image of His Son (Romans 8:29). When we pray in this way, the Holy Spirit ministers to us by establishing God’s kingly rule over every dimension of our lives.
And that’s not all. When we pray “Your kingdom come,” we are also acknowledging that God is King of the nations—that He reigns over all the affairs of time. Isaiah describes God as whistling for the nations to come “from the ends of the earth; and behold, quickly, speedily they come!” (Isaiah 5:26). The King summons the nations as we might call a family dog to come inside. When He whistles, they run to do His bidding.
We need not be panic-stricken or tyrannized, then, by any shift in earthly powers. Instead, we can rejoice in the Lord our King, who is sovereign over all these things.
His kingdom cannot fail,
He rules o’er earth and heav’n;
The keys of death and hell
Are to our Jesus giv’n:
Lift up your heart,
Lift up your voice!
Rejoice, again I say, rejoice!
Posted in Devotions
Recent
Archive
2024
January
January 1st DevotionDecember 31st follow-upJanuary 2nd DevotionJanuary 3rd DevotionJanuary 4th DevotionJanuary 5th DevotionJanuary 8th DevotionJanuary 7th Follow-upJanuary 9th DevotionJanuary 10th DevotionJanuary 11th DevotionJanuary 12th DevotionJanuary 15th DevotionJanuary 14th Follow-upJanuary 16th DevotionJanuary 17th DevotionJanuary 18th DevotionJanuary 19th DevotionJanuary 21st follow-upJanuary 22nd DevotionJanuary 23rd DevotionJanuary 24th DevotionJanuary 25th DevotionJanuary 26th DevotionJanuary 29th Devotion1-28-24 follow-upJanuary 30th DevotionJanuary 31st Devotion
February
February 1st DevotionFebruary 2nd DevotionFebruary 5th DevotionFebruary 6th DevotionFebruary 4th Follow-upFebruary 7th DevotionFebruary 8th DevotionFebrtuary 9th DevotionFebruary 12th DevotionFebruary 11th Follow-upFebruary 13th DevotionFebruary 14th DevotionFebruary 15th DevotionFebruary 16th DevotionFebruary 19th DevotionFebruary 20th DevotionFebruary 21st DevotionFebruary 22nd DevotionFebruary 23rd DevotionFebruary 26th DevotionFebruary 27th DevotionFebruary 28th DevotionFebruary 29th Devotion
March
March 1st DevotionMarch 4th DevotionMarch 3rd follow-upMarch 5th DevotionMarch 6th DevotionMarch 7th, 2024March 8th DevotionMarch 11th DevotionMarch 12th DevotionMarch 13th DevotionMarch 14th DevotionMarch 15th DevotionMarch 18th DevotionMarch 19th DevotionMarch 20th devotionMarch 21st DevotionMarch 22nd DevotionMarch 25th DevotionMarch 26th DevotionMarch 27th DevotionMarch 28th DevotionMarch 29th Devotion
April
April 1str DevotionApril 2nd DevotionApril 3rd DevotionApril 4th DevotionApril 5th DevotionApril 8th DevotionApril 9th DevotionApril 10th DevotionApril 11th DevotionApril 12th DevotionApril 15th DevotionApril 16th DevotionApril 17th DevotionApril 18th DevotionApril 19th DevotionApril 22nd devotionApril 23rd DevotionApril 24th DevotionApril 25th DevotionApril 26th Devotion
No Comments