Reports from Nairobi tell that over 300 Kenyans have been killed and 70,000 more displaced in the violence related to the protests against President Kibaki, who is alleged to have rigged the votes in favor of his reelection. Arson attacks and violent measures of the police continue throughout the nation. Earlier this week, a church was discovered with at least thirty victims trapped inside as the structure was set afire.
Jesus says to pray for His Kingdom, that it would come and that His will would be done. How immense and impossible of a prayer is that? How will my one, single, short-breathed prayer affect the fortunes and the very souls of each person to whom Christ reaches out? It's ridiculous. Do we honestly expect God's Kingdom to charge forward through the rubble of our human waste? Ridiculous...
Still, Jesus says to pray for His Kingdom, that it would come and that His will would be done. When he said this, the state of Israel was in a state of perpetual victimization, from their exile in Babylon six centuries past until the present day where they were trampled underfoot by the Roman Empire. The Jews hoped and prayed for a Messiah that would relieve them from this state, that would give Israel victory over Rome and establish their political state forever. Within 40 years, Jerusalem was utterly destroyed and vacated, the Jews scattered among the nations. Still, Jesus says to pray for His Kingdom, that it would come and that His will would be done.
If we are going to pray for His Kingdom, we must keep in mind that we are praying for the genocides in Africa, for the mess we've only exacerbated in the Middle East, for every single starving man, woman and child littering the city streets. If you are not willing to pray for this, not willing to believe that God will advance his Kingdom through out wastelands, then simply don't pray for the Kingdom, or acknowledge that you can't understand the breadth and power of His Kingdom and ask Him for faith, knowing that he will grant it, even if without understanding.
What does the Gospel's power mean? I wish I knew. I understand some of what that means for the Midwest Suburban United States. I have no idea what that means for the church in Europe or China, much less many of those I pass every day.
If we are to be part of the Kingdom's advancement, we have the responsibility to pray for its advancement. The immensity of this prayer reminds us of God's power to do the impossible. Only God knows what this means, but rest assured that He will demand something of us when we pray. Be ready and pray for the Kingdom.
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