When our girls were little, we always read them a devotional story before tucking them in bed.
One page in length, the devotional usually included a verse, a present day story, and some type of applicable lesson. Hannah and Hilary always knew when it was almost time for bed when we began the summary with the same four words:
“And the key is…..”
As Jesus describes the Kingdom to His disciples, He also summarizes with the “key”:
“I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.” (Matthew 16:19)
For many years, I saw this as some arm-wrestling contest between me and God.
If I could pin Him down long enough, He would yell “Uncle” and loose upon me whatever I wanted.
But the power of this verse lies in what Jesus has already taught His disciples through the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9)
If you remember, the middle of it prays something like this…
“Father, I know that Your Kingdom will come within me whenever I’m willing to yield my desires to Yours. Your Word is already settled and acted on in heaven without question (Psalm 119:89). I’m asking that You have carte blanche in my life, just like You already do in heaven.”
You see, when we allow His will to be first in our lives, then heaven’s energy current is pointed directly to our inner man.
God has already done His part. He has locked sin away from our lives and released His righteousness to take sin’s place (2 Corinthians 5:21).
“Now, like the safety deposit box at our local bank, opening the heavenly storehouse requires two keys: His and our own. Although God’s action of binding and loosing is already completed, the vast resources won’t reach us without us turning our keys as well.” (Hungry For More: Feasting through the Word, Chapter 12)
You’ve been given your key. It allows you to unleash the heavenlies into your existing situation.
Have you used your Kingdom key, today?
Father,
I’m coming to realize that the “on earth” part of the Lord’s prayer is actually inside of me (Matthew 6:10). You’ve given me all that I need according to life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3), but unfortunately I just carry the key around in my pocket. I haven’t been putting it to use.
Today, with the eyes of faith, I ask that You open the dividing wall between the spiritual and my physical. Allow Your spiritual realities to flow down into my existence. Indeed, may Your Kingdom come within my heart in the very same way that it has already been established in heaven. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”
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