So the guys are watching Jesus do stuff. They’re amazed. They think it might be because He’s really good at praying. ‘How to do this?’ they wonder. Perhaps if they could get Him to tell them just how to pray and what to pray for, they’ll be all set.

So they flat out ask Him, ‘could you teach us how to pray?’
‘Sure,’ Jesus said.
He goes through a simple prayer explaining how to relate to God, our fellowman and the tempter. Beyond that, they were to affirm and align themselves with God’s purposes: Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.

This, of course, was Jesus’ supreme desire. It’s how He understood His purpose in the world. The disciples wanted to get it right and do just what He said.

Jesus made things simple for Himself. He loved the Father and would do only what He heard Him say, and saw Him do.

As the guys followed Jesus around for three years they could easily see what was most important - that His behavior match His prayer. Jesus cared about the needs of the hungry, naked, poor and imprisoned. He expected His disciples to do so, as well. But that was not His emphasis.

A good teacher is intentional. A good teacher speaks the words he wants his learners to remember, and does the actions he wants his learners to emulate. He does not say and do things to obscure his purpose for them, but to plainly show what he expects them to say and do.

The preponderance of Jesus’ actions and words related to healing, delivering people from afflicting spirits, and teaching about the Kingdom of God.

(Consider: 222 of the 666 verses in Mark’s Gospel are stories of healings and miracles. What would a first-time Bible reader conclude about Jesus’ priorities after reading the Gospels? The same as you did . . . at first.)

Jesus took His prayer seriously, Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done - on earth - as it is in Heaven. Here, Jesus was in a kingdom ruled by demonic powers. There are no such evil rulers in heaven. So, to bring Heaven to earth He asserts God’s will. Taking authority, He overpowers and sends off the evil spirits.

Jesus’ explanation: if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.

Acts of power were not a side show for Jesus. They were violent and devastating blows to the kingdom of darkness. In this clash of kingdoms they are indispensable.

Jesus prayed, Thy Kingdom come. He then acted like He played a part in bringing that Kingdom. Exerting the superior power from the Kingdom of Heaven, He broke satan’s bondage over mens’ lives. It wasn’t pretty. It was war.

Jesus explained His take on the Lord’s Prayer by the actions He took. The disciples must have ‘gotten it’ once the Holy Spirit came into them, because they acted like Jesus. Most of the church, though, seems to take it another way. Many imagine Jesus will bring His Kingdom in spite of them, rather than through them.

What’s your take?