“Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth, as it is in heaven.”
The Lord’s Prayer calls for God’s people to pray that the kingdom of God will come on earth in the same way that it exists in heaven. That is an incredible invitation to participate with God and impact history from the human side. As you pray for our global and Mission Canada workers and all our partners around the world, please pray the Word of God over them. Ask the Lord to give us the nations as our inheritance, to have them in our possession to the praise of His glory. Here are six of 12 kingdom prayers we can pray to that end. The remaining six kingdom prayers will be featured in the next issue of testimony (July/August) in PART 2 of “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” Thank you for your continued partnership in prayer for the work of PAOC missions.
- Pray for workers (Luke 10:2; Matthew 9:37-38).
“Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.’ ”
Jesus encouraged us to pray for men and women who will give their lives to reach people without Christ wherever they are. There remain many who are living as part of Unreached People Groups (UPGs), who have never heard a clear presentation of the good news. It is God who calls and empowers people to do His work, but He invites us to ask Him to send them. Pray for more global and Mission Canada workers, and for hundreds of pastors, evangelists and teachers around the world.
- Pray that the Holy Spirit will draw men and women to Himself, and that blind eyes will be opened and the glory of God be revealed.
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30).
People are weary and burdened by the reality of sin and all its consequences. Only the Holy Spirit can open their eyes to their true need for salvation that will come by repentance and lead to new life and joy in Jesus. Pray that God will bring hundreds of thousands of people into the rest of salvation.
“I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me” (Acts 26:17b-18).
False religions and deceptive ideologies have blinded men and women in every nation to the truth of the gospel. Pray that God will unveil the beauty and glory of the cross and break through the veil that blinds the minds and hearts of so many. For “whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away” (2 Corinthians 3:16).
- Pray for passion, courage and soundness of mind.
“For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord …” (2 Timothy 1:6-8a).
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God has given His followers a spirit of power that sets us free from fear and timidity so we can boldly proclaim the truth of the gospel. The world is full of uncertainty and danger. But “we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved” (Hebrews 10:39), so pray for courage to face the dangers that come with the mission.
- Pray that God’s Word will accomplish the purposes for which God sends it.
“… so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it” (Isaiah 55:11).
God’s Word is a powerful, two-edged sword that is greater than any political, economic and social challenges and trends. Pray that God’s Word in written, oral, musical and dramatic forms will be proclaimed in every community in our world.
- Pray that the Spirit of God will be poured out on all flesh.
“… I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your old men will dream dreams,
your young men will see visions.
Even on my servants, both men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days.
I will show wonders in the heavens
and on the earth ...” (Joel 2:28-30a).
God has promised to pour out His Spirit on men and women, on the young and the old, and on the rich and the poor. Please pray that God will give visions and dreams to our workers and our partners around the world. Please pray that millions will have powerful divine encounters and be saved and empowered as God’s witnesses by the Spirit of God.
- Pray that Jesus will unite His body, the church.
“I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me” (John 17:20b-23).
The unity of the followers of Jesus is a powerful witness to the truth of the gospel. Pray that God will unite Christians around the world to work together to reach those who have never heard the gospel, and that they will be united into the body of Christ. Pray that the love of Christ will reconcile broken relationships and heal wounded hearts so the witness of His church will be clear and triumphant.
Murray Cornelius serves as the executive director of International Missions for the PAOC. For more information on how you can pray, visit https://paoc.org/missions/resources/prayer-guide to order your free hard copy of the latest 2017 Prayer Guide or to download a free digital copy. To subscribe to our weekly missions prayer posts, contact im@paoc.org.
Image ©istockphoto.com. This article appeared in the May/June 2017 issue of testimony, the bimonthly publication of The Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada.