June 2 - Cooperating with God

“For Yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen” (Matthew 6:13).
 
We have a problem. We’ve had it since the beginning. Every man thinks the world should revolve around him. That our lives are about our kingdom, our power, and our glory. The great agenda of God is to bring us back to His original design. He wants us to genuinely believe and continually acknowledge that the kingdom and the power and the glory belong to Him. This is not selfish of God; it is simply true. And He knows that our lives will be out of sync without this acknowledgement. 
 
In heaven this misunderstanding is eternally corrected. Notice the song of the saints and angels before God who see things perfectly:

Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne and the living creatures and the elders; and the number of them was myriads of myriads, and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing.” And every created thing which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all things in them, I heard saying, “To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever.” And the four living creatures kept saying, “Amen.” And the elders fell down and worshiped. (Revelation 5:11-14)
 
The wise writer of Proverbs gives us instruction in this: “In all your ways acknowledge Him…” (Prov. 3:6). He is to be at the center of our minds and the forefront of our confession. We are to let the world know that life is not just about us. It is about Him. Our days are to be spent in cooperating aggressively with God so His kingdom can come and His will be done on earth as it is in heaven. 
 
Heavenly King, all life is about You and Your amazing kingdom. Guard my heart from pride and my words from reflecting my own purposes and desires rather than Yours. Help me to pursue You with everything in me, confess my sinfulness quickly, and honor You in all things. Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven!

---Adapted from Simply Prayer by Bill Elliff. This book is available at prayershop.org.
 

Prayer Points

• Praise God for the forgiveness of sins.
• Give thanks for God’s marvelous promise that “if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 Jn. 1:9).
• Confess your sins to God.
• Commit yourself to living in the joyous assurance that your sins are, indeed, forgiven (Ps. 103:3).
• Ask God to help you sincerely forgive others who have wronged you (Mt. 6:12).
• Ask God to ease the tension of racial conflict in our cities and on some campuses. Pray for repentance and forgiveness to heal neighborhoods and communities. Ask God to protect and empower believers who are working for reconciliation.