Jesus began with prayer and ended with it (Lk 3:21; 23:46), to model and instruct us on the indispensability of a consistent prayer life to success in spiritual warfare, and the resultant expansion of the kingdom of God on earth. The earth has two opposing kingdoms which are contending for dominance over mankind. They are the kingdom of God, characterized by life and light, and the kingdom of Satan characterized by darkness and death.
The kingdom of God is the rule of God— where He dictates and presides over affairs. The most important thing to God is the establishment and growth of His kingdom on earth. When Jesus taught His disciples to pray, “… Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven” (Matt 6:9-10), He demonstrated the priority of the kingdom of God. Matthew 6:33 reinforces this fact: “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”
The presence of the kingdom of God is the most important need of mankind. Without the kingdom of God, human beings live in an atmosphere that is harmful to their existence. Remember that the kingdom of God is “… righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Rom 14:17). This implies that an existence outside God’s kingdom, for man, is an existence without righteousness, peace and joy—the perfect setting for misery. God’s kingdom is His intended habitat for man: “Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth”” (Gen 1:26).
However, God does not rule where His power is absent, because, “He rules by His power forever; His eyes observe the nations; Do not let the rebellious exalt themselves” (Ps 66:7). The rule of God is the same thing as the kingdom of God. God rules by His power forever, which implies that He establishes His kingdom by His power. No wonder the Bible says, “For the kingdom of God is not in word but in power” (1Cor 4:20). The fact that, “… The earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available [dynamic in its working]” (James 5:16 AMP), proves that God intends prayer to be the means by which His kingdom is established on earth.
Like the disciples of the first century, we have a mandate to preach and to demonstrate the kingdom of God: “And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give” (Matt 10:7-8). God’s agenda is that it be “on earth as it is in heaven” (Matt6:10). For this reason, God has entrusted us, His children, with the task of spreading His kingdom on earth. We and our spheres of influence can only experience the kingdom of God if we seek it. God will not impose His rule on us, hence, the Bible says, “…SEEK first the kingdom of God…” (Matt 6:33). The kingdom of God is not an automatic reality in human affairs, and may or may not be present in a life, a home, a church, a neighbourhood etc. The rule of God does not happen among us as a matter of course; it comes as a result of earnest seeking. “Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart” (Jer 29:12-13).
Consequently, we would do well to emulate Jesus “who, in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, and was heard because of His godly fear,” (Heb 5:7). The result will be that, like Jesus, we will be able to offer ourselves to God, through the Holy Spirit (Heb 9:14). “Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place.” (2Cor 2:14). Shalom.
