Praying Like Jesus: A Refurbished Prayer

(A prayer based on Mt 6:9-13.)

Our Father, it is the fullness of your presence that I'm after. I long for it. Yearn for it. Hunger for it. Thirst for it. There's no place I'd rather be. You've whet my appetite for the fullness of your presence, Heaven, with glimpses of it here and now. You've drawn me in with tastes here and there. But I want to dwell fully in your fullness. I want to stand in your holiness. O, just to stand before you and utter your name, the thought of it is overwhelming. Holy is your name, my King.

May your kingdom reign in me, Jesus. Reign over me. May it reign in all the earth, just as it does in the fullness of the Father's presence. Bring your perfect future kingdom backward, Lord, just for a moment so I can taste again. Touch this moment with it. Allow the future to collide with the present by moving backward now. And, in so doing, may your will be done, your desire fulfilled. Do here, in this very instance, what you would have done in the future perfect kingdom.

Feed us, God, with such things. Feed us with your presence. May the fullness of the presence of God be our daily bread. Let us feast on it and never hunger or thirst again. Forgive us, Lord, for settling for anything less. We stand in debt to you, God, for we have gorged ourselves on soul junk food when you've put a banquet of your presence before us. We've wronged you, King Jesus. Forgive us. And help us to forgive those who've wronged us. Let us not act in vengeance or violence; instead, lead us away, Lord, from such temptations. Lead us away from the designs of The Evil One. Instead, lead us into your kingdom, power, and glory and let us stay there with you always and forever. Amen.