Praying the King's Agenda
Join Us For 21 Days of Prayer
Join us on Monday, March 16th, at 7:00AM as we gather together online for 21 days of prayer! We are going to be utilizing a resource published by Converge called Praying the King’s Agenda. We will be utilizing an online video conferencing application called Zoom which has apps available for your computer, tablet, and phone.
Each morning we will post the liturgy on a new blog post that we will use to guide us through our time of prayer. We will also be identifying a group of people that we will be able to pray for.
Praying the King’s Agenda
What is the King’s Agenda? Imagine a grand, powerful and attention-grabbing
voice. Whose voice do you think of? Our answers would probably be somewhat generational. Older ones might think of Paul Harvey. His distinctive voice and unique rhythm and cadence, with dramatic pauses, jumped right out of the radio. “And that’s (pause, pause) the rest of the story. (Pause, pause, even more pause) Good day.”
Fan of Star Wars? “Luke, I am your father.” Darth Vader was vocalized by the renowned James Earl Jones, whose voice certainly commanded attention. When Darth spoke, we shivered. Baseball fan? Certain voices come through the radio and are familiar friends (does anybody listen to the radio anymore?). Vin Scully comes to mind, or Red Barber, or for me as a boy in Pennsylvania, Bob Prince. Alas, I’m dating myself again. Who are the voices of the younger generations?
Whoever you think of as The Voice, not singing but speaking, a voice that makes you take notice, imagine that voice reading these words from the Book of Revelation 19:11-16:
“Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. 12 His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. 13 He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. 14 And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. 15 From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. 16 On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.”
There is no question who this horse-riding champion is — it’s Jesus Christ. This is
a future vision of Christ’s return to earth. He will come as a victorious Conqueror; a faithful, true and righteous Judge; a merciful Savior (the robe dipped in the blood of the cross); the Word of God; and, yes, King of kings and Lord of lords.
Jesus is the King of kings. He is the Lord of lords. When a king speaks, his subjects listen. When a lord (master) sets the agenda, that agenda is followed to a T.
The great news for us as Jesus-followers is this: All Jesus reveals about himself and all he commands of us in his word is for our good. We have a kind, caring and benevolent King who wants joy, hope, rest and contentment for us both now and forever. He is not a killjoy. His yoke is easy and his burden is light. He’s no slave driver or despot. His commands are not about his ego. He laid down his life for God’s people, and he has a plan for our eternal happiness. He is a gracious giver of many gifts.
One of these is prayer. Jesus invites us to pray often and makes magnificent promises about prayer (see Matthew 7:7-11). The question is how do we know what to pray for? How do we know when our prayers are healthy, good, Christ-honoring and not self- centered or wrongly motivated (James 4:3)?
That’s why praying the agenda of Jesus Christ himself is a wise and healthy practice. Pray the King’s Agenda. That same Jesus who is King of kings has communicated
so much to us in his word. He’s told us about himself. And he’s told us what
he commands. When we pray truth about our Savior and pray according to his commands, we must be on the right track, no? This is praying the King’s Agenda: Take what Jesus has revealed and pray it back to him. These 21 Days of Focused Prayer won’t begin to exhaust all that the Scriptures reveal about Jesus or all that comes from him. But it’s a wise start. And it sets a pattern you can continue.
Each day, we invite you to: Read a brief passage with a truth about Jesus or a command from him. Notice some details from the passage, to aid in understanding. Think about it. What does this imply for me today? How will this impact my day (my week, my month, my life)? Pray. We will offer a suggestion for a prayer starting point, but feel free to “build your own” prayer from there. Want to reflect more on what the Scriptures say about these things? Additional Bible passages are offered for deeper thought. Finally, take a moment and respond personally to each day’s truth and prayer opportunity. What is the King, Jesus Christ, saying to me personally through his word today? How can I share it with someone who needs Jesus?
Praying the King’s Agenda is simply another way of saying, “Hear what the Lord Jesus has to say to you from the Bible, and pray about that in response.” It is allowing your Savior, Jesus, to set your prayer agenda. It is praying the Bible.
For thousands of years new generations of Christian believers have learned the depth and power of praying Scripture. It has transformed untold numbers of Christians. The extraordinary Martin Luther (whose treatise on prayer influenced our two previous 21 Days of Prayer booklets, thanks to Gary Rohrmayer), George Muller, Hudson Taylor,
on and on the list could go. Want to grow a more focused, powerful and meaningful prayer life? Learn to pray Scripture. Want to know where to start? Start with the agenda of Jesus Christ. Pray the King’s Agenda.
- Dana Olson
