When we read the gospel accounts of the life of Jesus and the Acts of the Apostles, it is astounding to see how the word of God multiplied in the lives of those who heard it. Many times we see someone sharing their encounters with Jesus with their whole family, village or even the residents of ten cities. Jesus began his ministry with a handful of followers that grew to 12, to 72, to thousands of people who came and listened to his teaching and were fed with multiplying bread and fish. And this process of multiplication is not just restricted to the life of Jesus and his first disciples. Today, all around the world, God continues to multiply his work through the lives of those who follow him.
Dr Aila Tasse is the regional director for New Generations and has been involved in catalysing over 47 disciple making movements in many different nations. When asked about his experience of seeing God move he responded ‘Most of the action is prayer. Most of the action steps are organising prayer.’
I was recently asked by Suzie Judd, a friend and mentor, ‘do we know how to multiply prayer?’ She took her question to another movement leader ‘Dawit’ based in Ethiopia who encouraged her to take up a really simple tool. Dawit said ‘Ask God for five people and make a commitment with those people. Gather together weekly to pray for at least an hour. When you pray, pray ‘Your Kingdom Come’ prayers. Within a few weeks or months, each person in that group commits to starting a new group with exactly the same agreement.’ You can see how, as each person in each new group commits to beginning their own new group, the prayer will cascade out and multiply so that the actions of one person could result in thousands of hours of prayer each week for God’s Kingdom to come.
What does Dawit mean by ‘Your Kingdom Come’ prayers? He means deliberately choosing not to always pray for our immediate needs and circumstances but committing to training ourselves to pray Kingdom wide, Kingdom focused prayers, regularly asking God what he wants us to pray about. This requires being willing to give up our own desires of seeing God move in our immediate situation in order to listen to what is on God’s heart, for the sake of the King and the Kingdom coming forth.
Jesus came to show us the Kingdom of God, our job on earth is to bring forth and announce his Kingdom here. I have found that as I have committed to prayer groups that focus on praying ‘Your Kingdom come’ prayers, I have grown in prayer for unreached people groups and nations that I would never have known to pray for before.
When we meet, we often start by praying from scriptures like Revelation 5, Isaiah 6, Romans 8 and ask God to teach us and lead us even when we don’t know who, where or what we should pray for. We are learning to be living sacrifices, offering ourselves in prayer, trusting that God is moving and working through us even though we may not see with our own eyes what he is doing.
God has challenged us, chastised us, encouraged us and taught us through his Word and Spirit and we are learning to receive the Kingdom in our own hearts in order to prepare the way for the King to come. Recently a group of us were asking God to show us what nation was on his heart. He led us to pray for a nation with a very controlling government and as we prayed we felt as if the worship of the believers of this nation was under threat in some way, so we interceded together for God to release worship and bind up the work of the enemy to prevent it. A couple of weeks later, I met a believer from that nation who shared with me about a new law their government was seeking to pass that would prevent believers in that nation from gathering in their homes to pray and read God’s word. This announcement was made the week that we had been led to pray for this nation! It was so encouraging to know that God is leading us to intercede for nations in ways we do not know and we’re excited to continue following his lead.
Are you desperate to see God’s Kingdom come here on earth as it is in heaven? Who do you know who shares your longing? Why not invite them to pray with you and share this simple prayer tool with them? ‘May your prayers be set before God like incense.’ Psalm 141:2 Maranatha! Come Lord Jesus.
Lisa is a disciple of Jesus, teaching ESOL and loving her neighbours in beautiful Yorkshire.
