Weekend, March 16, 2024<\/strong><\/p>\n What Prayer Isn\u2019t About<\/strong><\/p>\n Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. (Matthew 6:33<\/a> NLT)<\/p>\n Prayer isn\u2019t about changing God\u2019s mind. In many cases, prayer is about changing our minds.\u00a0<\/p>\n When Jesus taught His disciples to pray, He told them, \u201cPray like this: Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy. May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven\u201d (Matthew 6:9-10<\/a> NLT).<\/p>\n Not that we could, but why would we even try to talk God into something that is not His will? Prayer is getting God\u2019s will on earth, not our will in Heaven. Prayer is not pulling God our way; it is pulling us His way.<\/p>\n After Jesus died on the cross<\/a> and rose from the dead, He appeared to Mary Magdalene<\/a> at the tomb and said, \u201cBut go find my brothers and tell them, \u2018I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God\u2019 \u201d (John 20:17<\/a> NLT).<\/p>\n It no longer was only Jesus who could call Him Father. As believers, we can call him Father, too, because of our relationship through Christ. Jesus said, \u201cI also tell you this: If two of you agree here on earth concerning anything you ask, my Father in heaven will do it for you\u201d (Matthew 18:19<\/a> NLT).<\/p>\n Of course, our prayers need to be aligned with the will of God. But the point is that praying together makes all the difference in the world. There is power in unified prayer. Galatians 6:2<\/a> tells us, \u201cShare each other\u2019s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ\u201d (NLT). Don\u2019t do life alone. Don\u2019t try to be a solo Christian.<\/p>\n Christians need to pray with other Christians. And when we pray for God\u2019s kingdom to come, we\u2019re really saying, \u201cLord, I long for Heaven.\u201d God has prewired every Christian to know Him. He has prewired us to long for a place that we have never seen. It is like the homing instinct we see in the animal kingdom. God has placed it in human hearts as well. We long for Heaven. We\u2019re homesick for Heaven.<\/p>\n Therefore, when we pray, \u201cMay your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven,\u201d we\u2019re saying that we long for the day when we\u2019ll be in Heaven, in the presence of the Lord. But we\u2019re also saying that we long for the day when Jesus will come back to this earth again.<\/p>\n In addition, we\u2019re saying, \u201cLord, I want Your rule in my life. I want You to take charge of my life. I want to give You the master key of every door in my house. I want to give You all my passwords. I want You to have access to everything.\u201d<\/p>\n That is what Jesus meant when He said, \u201cSeek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need\u201d (Matthew 6:33<\/a> NLT).<\/p>\n Jesus gave us this template for prayer to encourage us to pray. And we need to pray about everything.<\/p>\n Copyright \u00a9 2024 by Harvest Ministries. All rights reserved.<\/em><\/p>\n For more relevant and biblical teaching from Pastor Greg Laurie, go to www.harvest.org<\/a><\/strong> Watch Greg Laurie<\/a>‘s weekly television broadcast on LightSource.com<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n In a world that insists God is just a myth, there is overwhelming evidence to the contrary that demands our attention. Renowned author Lee Strobel takes the question of God\u2019s existence head-on in an engaging new book titled Is God Real?<\/em> Tackling the big questions of life, this fantastic resource is both easy to read and useful to share. We will mail you a copy in thanks for your support of Harvest Ministries this month.\u00a0<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/media.swncdn.com\/via\/5363-67149-347375447mktgwebbannersalemmediaupdate-.jpg\")
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Listen to Greg Laurie<\/a>‘s daily broadcast on OnePlace.com.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n![\"is](\"https:\/\/i.swncdn.com\/media\/200w\/via\/images\/2024\/02\/29\/34794\/34794-isoproduct_source_file.webp\")
<\/source><\/picture><\/strong>In thanks for your gift, you can receive a copy of\u00a0<\/strong>Is God Real?<\/em><\/strong><\/a>\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>by Lee Strobel.<\/strong><\/p>\n