The Paternity of Prayer, Part 2

What many Christians want is a jack-in-the-box God.

They want to wind Him up and watch Him pop up because of what they want. Dr. Tony Evans says God's response to our requests depends more upon our connection than our cravings. If you skip the relationship and refuse to come under the rule, don't be surprised that heaven doesn't show up. This is The Alternative with Dr. Tony Evans, author, speaker, senior pastor of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas, Texas, and president of The Urban Alternative. The Bible tells us to bring our requests to the Lord, but today Dr. Evans explains why those requests ought to have more to do with God's agenda than our own.

Let's join him as he explains. We have defined prayer as relational communication with God. You're not merely talking to God, you're talking to your Father.

That's a relationship as a child would approach his father—honor, respect, but clarity and honesty. God invites us to approach Him. So when we have a long-distance relationship with God, because we're not pursuing intimacy, we're just coming to Him for stuff, then that means that our prayer is not getting through because we don't want Him, we just want to use Him. So our Father, who's operating in a whole different realm, who art in heaven, I'm going to make a big deal about your name.

And after He's been given the worth, do His great name in a relational conversation with Him. The next part of the prayer says, your kingdom come. I have a kingdom, and so do you. Your home, that's your kingdom, that's the place where you abide. That is the place where your family lives. It is your kingdom, my kingdom.

There is a welcome mat. You are welcome to my kingdom. But you need to know that when you step into my kingdom, or when I step into your kingdom, referring to your home, I have to abide by the rules of your house, because it's your house. They're governing guidelines of how your home, my home, that is our kingdom's function.

There will be a clash if you seek to impose your rules in my house, or I seek to impose my rules in your house. God has a house. Psalm 103 verse 19 says that God's kingdom rules over all. Psalm 145 verse 13 says God's kingdom has dominion forever. First Chronicles 29 verse 11 and 12 says that God's kingdom rules, rules over all. God has a house.

The word is kingdom, and it involves all of creation. God calls all of his creation his house, and you and I are visitors in his house. And he has house rules.

These are the guidelines by which his house is designed to operate. There is an opposing house out there called the world. That system headed by Satan that leaves God out. And what Satan seeks to do is to get us to bring his rules in the God's house. That is, to have a conflict of kingdoms, because whenever there are opposing rules in the same house, there's going to be conflict. God is having a big problem with many of his kids, because they want to bring the rules of the world and make them the house rules of the kingdom. And God says, those are not the rules of my house.

He begins the prayer relationally, our Father who art in heaven. He now comes to the rules of the house. So the whole point is to pursue a relationship, and as you pursue the relationship, to come under the rule. So it is a relationship that leads you underneath the rule. Some want a relationship, but don't understand they got to come under the rule.

Some want to talk about the rule who don't want to pursue a relationship. You start with our Father. This is a relational situation. But you come to the rule, to the house rules. And just as parents must orient their children to the rules of the house, God must orient his children to the rules of his house, and his house is all of creation. So when you or me as individuals insist on our rules in God's house, that is living our lives, we will then be in conflict with the Father. If we have a church and we want to have our rules for who we are and how we to operate and not operate by his rules, since it's his house, we're going to be in conflict with the head of the house. When a nation wants to run its government on its own rules, when God established government because all creation runs underneath the head of the house, then creation, governments, communities, races, classes, and cultures will be in conflict with the head of the house. So what we are experiencing today in all of those categories are people who want to say the words, but not want to come under the rules of the house.

And so we find ourselves living in conflict with the head of the house. What God is after is for us to understand the prayer. Let me say the prayer again. The prayer is your kingdom come, that is I am now operating under your rule, your authority in relationship. I'm pursuing a relationship and at the same time coming underneath the rule of the house because kingdom, God's rule, is comprehensive over all of his creation. What many Christians want is a jack-in-the-box God.

They want to wind him up and watch him pop up because of what they want without understanding who the Father is, my Father who art in heaven, our Father, or what the Father requires. If you skip the relationship and refuse to come under the rule, don't be surprised that heaven doesn't show up because heaven has to show up in concert with the rules of the house. So the reason you should be here today in church is to learn more about the rules of the house and what the Father has to say so you can be in relationship, come to underneath alignment so that God is comfortable living in the same house with you. Now, Jesus was asked in John chapter 18, Saint John chapter 18 verses 36 and 37, Pilate said, are you a king? And Jesus said, you have said correctly I am a king, but then he went on to say, but my kingdom is not of this world. In other words, I'm a king, but I'm not from down here.

I'm a king, I'm from up there, and my job is to bring up there down here. Jesus became a man, God became a man in the second person of the Trinity to bring heaven down here. The point is, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. So the whole point of the prayer is to take up there and draw it down here. So Jesus says, I am a king, but I'm not from here. Therefore, if you pray your kingdom come, but you're not starting from up there, you're starting from down here, you're starting in the wrong location. Your kingdom come, and Jesus says, my kingdom is not of this world. So you want to find out what's happening in that world, what the rules are in that world, so you can pray it down in this world.

Because if you're trying to bring this world into that world, you're operating in the wrong direction. My kingdom does not start in this world. My kingdom starts in that world. Your kingdom come. So what you need to understand is the concept of kingdom, the rules that govern the house, the house is the kingdom, the comprehensive rule of God over all of its creation, touching the individual, the family, the church, and the broader society, including government. Now that we understand the concept of kingdom, just think about a house or the conflicts in a house based on the rules, we now have to understand what will qualify you to pray that prayer.

Your kingdom come. You get into the kingdom by accepting Jesus Christ as your personal savior. St. John 3.3, Jesus told Nicodemus, except you be born again, you will not see the kingdom of God.

You will not see the kingdom of God. So you enter the kingdom through conversion, being born again, becoming a Christian. But you only experience the kingdom when you become a disciple within the kingdom.

Let me say this again. Accepting Christ gets you to heaven. But only by becoming a kingdom person do you get heaven into history. If you are a Christian, you're going to heaven. But if you are not a full-time follower of Christ, you won't see heaven here.

The whole point of the prayer is to get heaven here. And Dr. Evans will tell us more about the amazing things to come when he continues in just a moment. First though, I want to let you know that for a limited time, we're bundling all eight full-length messages from his current series, The Lord's Prayer, on both CD and digital download, along with his popular book about living your life based on the 23rd Psalm, God Is More Than Enough. Both of these life-changing resources are yours with our thanks when you make a contribution to help keep Tony's messages coming to this station and others like it around the world. Visit tonyevans.org right away to get the details and take advantage of this special offer before time runs out.

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It never closes, so there's no need to wait. That's 1-800-800-3222. I'll repeat that information again after Part 2 of today's lesson and this. Far too many of us want to throw in the towel before we've thrown up the prayers. Dr. Tony Evans says Christians have a habit of underusing or overlooking our most valuable spiritual resource. Grace is available, but only at the throne, and you can only approach the throne through prayer. You can deepen your connection with the Lord through our in-depth course on Kingdom Prayer at the Tony Evans Training Center. You'll discover how God has wired the world to work by prayer and experience for yourself how it connects heaven with earth and time with eternity.

You'll not only gain a new understanding and appreciation for prayer, you'll actually pray in transforming ways you've never experienced before. The course is intense, but you can work through it at your own pace and get all the help you need through our online forum. And, of course, there's custom content from Tony not available anywhere else. Connect with the Tony Evans Training Center at TonyEvans.org. It's like having a seminary on your smartphone or other device.

Start today. TonyEvans.org. We are looking forward to the day when Jesus Christ will physically leave heaven, come down to earth, go to Jerusalem, set up his throne in Jerusalem, and from Israel, he will run the entire earth. But in the now kingdom, he is ruling in heaven on the right-hand side of the Father in his spiritual rule. When he comes in the kingdom to come, he will rule physically. In the now kingdom, he rules spiritually. He still rules, but he doesn't rule on earth. He rules from heaven. Now, the way he rules from heaven is through our communication system called prayer. He says, since I'm not there, but I'm up here, I want you to communicate with the Father, and I will be in touch with the Father, and to the degree that I see you are committed to me and my Father's kingdom, which is my kingdom, then I will maneuver spiritually from up there, and I will give you support down here. So what I'm going to do physically in the not yet, I'm willing to do spiritually now. So now there's a decision to be made, the decision if you really want to pray that prayer and have a relationship and come under his authority, that is the recognition that you are now in covenantal alignment underneath God. Ephesians chapter 1 verse 10, verse 22 and 23 says, God's philosophy of history is that all things come under the lordship of Jesus Christ and that he is in charge of your life.

He has become the dictator of your existence. No, this is not—we're not talking about going to church now. This ain't coming to church because the test of a church is not how many members it has, or the buildings, or the finances, or the program. That's not the ultimate test.

There's a place for that. That's not the ultimate test. GM is measured by one thing, whether cars are coming out of there. If cars are coming out of there, all the activity in GM is irrelevant because if they're not producing cars, then they're just walking around talking and eating and enjoying each other and twiddling.

No, if there is no car, it has failed, no matter how big the building is. And if we aren't making disciples, we have failed because God is trying to make kingdom disciples, not just accumulate church members. He's trying to get people who will live all of their lives consistently, progressively, growingly, under the lordship, kingdomized, under the rule of God and the lordship of Jesus Christ. And that is what He is after. So God has a kingdom.

He has a rule. We're supposed to be churning out, not church members, but people who are progressively—yes, it happens over time, but He ought to own more of you this year than He had of you last year, and more of you next year than He had of you this year. That decision has to be made. I'm surrendered to the king who happens to be my dad because I have a relationship, but I'm also surrendered. So what happens now that you understand the house, because the house has house rules, and now that you understand that you have to come under that king, because it's a kingdom, what can you expect? Okay, listen to the prayer. Thy kingdom come.

Oh, come. What He says is, now you're praying to see something, a coming, that is an implementation. You're seeing up there show up down here. You're seeing heaven visit earth, eternity showing up in time. He's talking to people who are already saved. They're on their way to heaven, but we're talking about the kingdom coming now. We're talking about what I'm dealing with now, my pain now, my sickness now, my finances now, my relationship now. He's saying, now you're praying for it to come.

The not yet is going to come, but right now I'm living now. Now I'm praying thy kingdom show up. Remember the word kingdom?

It means rule or authority. So you're asking the invisible king and kingdom to show up visibly. You want to see God's authority at work in your life.

So here's what you can expect. As you progressively, as I progressively, as we collectively progressively come underneath the king and pray this prayer in relationship, we're getting closer to him, but we're coming under him both at the same time, then the kingdom, because the word means rule or authority, begins to rule. That is, you begin to see heaven show up in history.

God's no longer a thought, a concept, or a philosophy. He's a living being who shows up. Jesus told his disciples in Luke chapter 9 verse 1 and 2, I'm giving you a kingdom, and with it I'm giving you authority. Acts chapter 8 verses 12 and 13, it says, and Philip was preaching the kingdom of God, and miracles showed up. It's not just becoming a Christian. It's becoming a kingdom disciple as a Christian. And then you see prayers answered, power given, authority exercised, overruling situations. You begin to see the king at work because you're operating under the rules of the house. You begin to see authority because his kingdom has to rule. His authority has to reign. Thy kingdom come.

Thy will be done. In fact, he told his disciples in Luke 22 verse 29, I share with you my authority. I give you earthly permission to act from my heavenly throne. And so, you cannot exercise legitimate authority over what you should be over, unless you're willing to be under what God has put over you.

Let me say that again. You cannot exercise legitimate authority of what you should be over unless you are willing to properly be under what God has put over you. God has told wives, if you're not in legitimate submission to the legitimate authority of your husband, he tells them don't pray because God's not going to hear. God tells the husbands in 1 Peter chapter 3 verse 7, if you won't legitimately come under my authority and you won't treat your mate right, then don't pray to me because I'm not going to listen.

Because I can't help you to be over if you're not willing to be under. So the whole point is, thy kingdom come has rules. And your first question should be, what are the rules of the house? And God, I will adjust my life to your rules because this is your house. Now you can pray, our Father, because I want a relationship, who art in heaven, I know you're located in the long distance, but I'm going to make a big deal about your name because I love you, Daddy.

Oh, by the way, I need you to come down here and help a brother out. I need you to come down here because I'm in need of something on earth that only heaven can fix. Now you've gotten heaven's attention because he now knows that you're willing to place yourself under his authority. So this kingdom concept, the comprehensive rule of God, out of relationship, over all of creation, you develop this mindset. You grow in this mindset. And we'll get to get forgiven for when you don't have this mindset.

We forgive our debts as we forgive our debtors. When you put this package of the Lord's prayer together, you're not just praying a prayer or saying, repeat after me. You're now talking to authority. You're now operating kingdomized. You're now taking the challenge of being able to operate under the rule of God and seeing heaven in history. So I just want to know, is there anybody here that needs to see heaven in history? Is there anybody that needs to see the Father at work on earth?

Well, that privilege is there, but it's got to be his kingdom because it's his house. Dr. Evans will come back in a moment with a final story to wrap up today's message. First, though, if you'd like to review today's lesson on your own or share it with someone else, the title to ask about is The Program of Prayer. But it also comes bundled with seven other messages in Tony's current teaching series, The Lord's Prayer.

And for a limited time, we're packaging the entire compilation on CDs and digital downloads, along with this popular book, God Is More Than Enough, and making them all available to you as our thank-you gift when you support Tony's ministry with a contribution. You can get all the information on this limited-time offer, make your donation online, and instantly download the messages in this series at TonyEvans.org. Or give us a phone call at 1-800-800-3222. Our resource center is open 24-7, so there's no need to wait.

Again, dial 1-800-800-3222, or go online to TonyEvans.org. Most of us have no problem praying for what we want, or even praying for what others want. But on Monday, Dr. Evans will talk about the importance of praying for what God wants.

Right now, though, he's back with this final illustration for today. In the Olympics, when an American wins a gold medal, they stand on the middle platform. But they don't come and ask them, what song do you want us to play? They'll say, what's your favorite song? Uh-uh, they play the national anthem. They play America's song. You know why? Because that winner is part of a kingdom.

They represent the United States of America. And even though they use their prowess, they belong to something bigger. You're unique. God has given you certain gifts, times, talents, treasures, but He wants you to play His song.

He wants you to recognize this ain't all about you. You belong to another kingdom. And I want you to recognize that you represent me at home, at work, at play. And with every area of your life, represent the King and the kingdom. Your prayer is not my kingdom come, it's Thy kingdom come. And when God sees that you want His kingdom, then the King who happens to be your daddy would love to show you divine authority in history. The Alternative with Dr. Tony Evans is brought to you by the Urban Alternative and is made possible by the generous contributions of listeners like you.