Tag Archives: lords prayer

September 15, 2025 · 5:30 AM

Kingdom Dominion

In Genesis 1, as God was about to make man He said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion…” (NKJV) Before sin entered the world, He instituted His Kingdom on earth and gave man the responsibility to have dominion. We were commissioned with a divine assignment to bring Heaven’s culture to earth. He then gave man His image, much like a signet ring, to have authority over everything. However, when the Fall happened, the call to Kingdom dominion remained, but our capacity became compromised.

Jesus coming to earth was not only meant to restore us to God, but also to the life of Kingdom dominion He created us to live. When the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray in Matthew 6, Jesus started out by restoring His Kingdom mandate. He prayed, “Your Kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven.” Jesus restored a governmental order that sin clouded. He restored our purpose and recommissioned us to bring the culture of Heaven to a world darkened by sin. Then before He ascended into Heaven, Jesus said that all power (absolute rule and authority) had been given to Him as He recommissioned us to go and make disciples who would be Kingdom carriers.

In Christ you are an image bearer with His authority. What sin tried to take away, Jesus restored. You have been given authority to cultivate the Kingdom of Heaven in your home, on your job and wherever you go. Walk in the authority He has given you, not to dominate, but to demonstrate the culture of the Kingdom. You are to enter every room as Heaven’s representative. You carry Kingdom authority, so walk like a citizen of Heaven, speak like an ambassador and love like the King of Kings. Use your Kingdom dominion to not only change the environment around you, but to shift the atmosphere as you help God’s Kingdom and will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.

Photo by Gvantsa Javakhishvili on Unsplash

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April 6, 2022 · 5:45 AM

Heartfelt Prayers

There are some incredible prayers recorded in the Bible that I’m sure you’ve read and or prayed. The Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9-12) is one that nearly everyone has memorized and prayed at one time or another. The prayer of Jabez (1Chronicles 4:10) is a great prayer to increase the things you have in order to be a blessing. I’ve prayed David’s prayer (Psalm 51:10-12) for forgiveness before in order to have a changed heart. The last one I’ll mention is Mary’s prayer of submission (Luke 1:38) right after she was told she would carry the Savior of the world. She simply asked God to have His will and to do what He said.

All these prayers have something in common. They’re pretty short. They are some of the most powerful prayers in the Bible, yet they’re not long or complicated. Sometimes I think we overly complicate prayer thinking that we have to say the right words, speak to God in King James or impress Him with the length of our prayers. While there’s nothing wrong with praying that way, God is simply looking at our heart. All these prayers I’ve mentioned are heartfelt prayers that touched God and resonate with us. You can pray them, but if you do, make sure they’re coming from your heart and not your memory.

Just before Jesus taught us the Lord’s Prayer, in Matthew 6:7 He reminded us, “And when you pray, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they think they will be heard because of their many words” (AMP). Heartfelt prayer isn’t about repetition. It’s crying out to God in your moment of need. It’s being vulnerable about your insecurities. It’s conversing with God on a personal level. While these memorized prayers have their place, they cannot replace your conversations with God entirely. You must be real with God, and He will be real with you. Open up to Him today, speaking from your heart. He doesn’t measure our prayers for their length or flowery words. He honors heartfelt prayers no matter how long or uncomplicated they are.

Photo by West Kenya Union Conference Adventist Media on Unsplash

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November 21, 2019 · 5:35 AM

Open The Hood Of Prayer

Prayer to me is like a car engine. I don’t know everything about it, but I know it works. Sure I can point out some parts under the hood and tell you what they do, but I don’t understand fully how they work. I’ve replaced a couple of parts that were easy to do, but for the harder stuff, I go to someone who understands it more fully. They are able to replace anything under the hood and make it run as intended. I take it to them because they know and understand every part of an engine. They also know how to tweak it to get the most out of it.

Every one of us can pray. Every one of us can make it work. We may not understand how it works or what to do to get the most out of it, but we can push the gas and make it go. I know people have broken down “The Lord’s Prayer” and taught me how to pray that way. I’ve been given methods like “ACTS” (Adoration, Confession, Thankfulness, Supplication) to give structure to my prayers. I’ve been shown how to pray intensely so that my prayers have more power. There are so many things we can learn about prayer, but most of us leave the hood closed.

If you’re going to pray more effectively, you’re going to have to spend some time under the hood tinkering. Powerful, effective prayers come out of spending time with the one we’re talking to. They come from intimately knowing the One to whom we pray. They come from understanding what His will is and what His Word says. The more we know what His Word says, the more we pray in accordance with it. The more we pray in accordance with it, the more He answers. The more He answers, the more faith and confident we get. The more faith and confident we get, the more effective our prayers become. James 5:16 says, “For tremendous power is released through the passionate, heartfelt prayer of a godly believer!” (TPT)

Don’t be afraid to look under the hood of prayer. Learn what you can. Take time tweaking this and that to make it comfortable for you. Understand there are different types and ways to pray. Your prayers get an audience with the One who created everything you see. It’s worth investing time and energy to make them as effective as possible. Hang around others who get their prayers answered. Learn from them how to pray. Each one of us have room for growth in our prayers. To get better, we just have to open the hood

Photo by Sitraka Rakotoarivelo on Unsplash

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December 11, 2015 · 1:19 AM

The Habit Of Forgiveness

I believe that there are several habits we as Christians can adopt in our lives to become the type of believer we truly aspire to be. While Hebrews 11 has compiled a list of heroes of the faith for us, there have been many people who have lived since that time whom we can learn from as well. If I were to ask you to think of a person, past or present, who exemplified a life of faith as a believer, you could probably think of a name quickly. Whether they were written about in the Bible, history, or have just touched your life in some way, they have habits in their life that you and I can adopt into our own lives to become that type of Christian.

 
One of the hardest habits for us to adopt is the habit of forgiveness. When we’ve been wronged, we feel justified in holding anger and resentment against the one who wronged us. I’ve learned in my own life that anger, resentment and being hurt are all that’s needed to become bitter. That bitterness then becomes a prison that holds your thoughts captive and stops any progress in your life. It has the power to consume you and that kind of bitterness causes you to spread that poison to others.

God wants us to let go of the wrongs that have been done to us because He knows that’s where our freedom lies. You cannot be a productive Christian if you’re holding anger, resentment, or bitterness towards someone else. God’s desire is that we turn the other cheek, not so we can get hurt again, but so we can lead with our un-bruised side. He knows that we will be better witnesses for Him when we don’t lead with our hurts and bruises out front. He knows that we can be healed in time when we first learn the habit of forgiveness.

In Matthew 6, we find the Lord’s Prayer. I’m sure you’ve memorized it at one point in your life. What you may not have memorized are verses 14-15 which come immediately after it. Jesus followed up His prayer with, “If you forgive others the wrongs they have done to you, your Father in Heaven will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, then your Father in Heaven will not forgive the wrongs you have done” (GNT). Your forgiveness from God is dependent on your ability to forgive others.

I like how the Amplified Bible describes what forgiving “wrongs” is and looks like. It says, “Their reckless and willful sins, leaving them, letting them go, and giving up your resentment.” All of this is put on you, not the other person or God. Your own forgiveness starts with your ability to let go of what someone else has willfully done to wrong you. The life God has for you will be bright and fresh again once you choose to adopt the habit of forgiveness.

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