Prayer Meditation

This appeared in the February / March edition of the magazine

Tim Keller once said in a sermon that he finds it easier to preach than to pray. He said he never forgets he is preaching when he preaches but he often forgets he is praying when he prays. How do we keep our mind from wandering and keep our heart from coldness in praying? Jesus gives us the Lord’s Prayer both as a prayer to be said out loud, and as a pattern for our prayer life.

Here is how I might pray:
“Our Father . . . your kingdom come.”

Father God, thank you that there is a King who rules over all things and that this great sovereign is our father. Thank you that when we approach the majestic throne room from where the entire universe is controlled, we find seated there our Father. The laws of your kingdom are the Fatherly laws. Our Father is the King and our king is the Father. Thank you that everything that happens, comes through you, the good and kind and generous and gracious and loving Father.

Father God, when I see the devastation of Haiti and hear the cries of the bereaved and the injured, Oh how I pray ‘your kingdom come;’ a kingdom where earthquakes will hurt no more. May your kingdom come to end all evil disasters. May your kingdom come to end all illness and pain. May your kingdom come to end all inequality and poverty. May your kingdom come to end all hunger. And may your kingdom come to end all dying.

Thank you that in Jesus we can start to see the first part of the answer to this prayer. He has ushered in your Kingdom. The new age of your reign has started in him. He is the first citizen of the new kingdom.

Father God, may your kingdom come, so that this tortured earth and the frustrated creation may enter into the freedom of the glory of the children of the Kingdom. May your kingdom come, let the lion lie down with the lamb. Long live the great king forever and ever. And may your people live in
the King’s peace.

. . .Over to you. . .

Father may your kingdom come as we pray our vision as a church into reality:
  • May we be aware of your rule as we work out how best to run the church and various teams.
  • May we see the strength and gentleness of your transforming rule in the work of our small groups.
  • May the longings of your people be satisfied under your fatherly care and may we see how you rule over your people as a shepherd King.


John Ferguson