On Earth as it is in Heaven: A Prayer for Servant-Royalty

The Lord's messenger will purify the priests, so that they will bring to the Lord the right kind of offerings.1 The sacrifice You desire is a broken spirit, You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, Oh God.2

[The Lord] leads the humble in the right way and  teaches them His will.3

The Lord is the friend of those who obey Him and He affirms His covenant with them.4 

You have made them a kingdom of priests to serve our God, and they shall rule on the earth.5 

James Tissot

How often and how far have we strayed from the calling to be servant royalty? How all-too frequently have we forgotten that humility is the only way to draw closer to God and to truly please Him? Have we lost sight of the fact that, in Heaven, there will be only one kingdom; God's, not ours? Are we wasting time in building up earthly kingdoms that will not survive in the day of judgment? Are we, in fact, putting our eternal joy in peril by neglecting to practice on earth the humble, worship-hearted lives of leadership and service that will be our Heavenly portion?

Lord, forgive us for the pride that destroys and divides Your body; raising up brother against brother. We repent of eating pride's forbidden fruits of selfishness and revenge, anger and judgment, believing the lie that we are God. Break down our idols! Prepare us for Heaven by humbling us here on earth. Remind us that our calling as a kingdom of priests is not to vie with each other in a pursuit of earthly treasure, but to continually prostrate ourselves at the feet of the One who was despised and rejected. To follow the humble way, and so beautify and recommend it with lives of Divine glory that we may say to those walking behind and beside us, 'imitate me, as I imitate Christ.'6 Reawaken in us each day a song of humble adoration that springs from a recognition of Your worthiness and the deep depths from which You have redeemed us. Remind us today that You are in Heaven, we on earth. Strengthen us in our often-shaky resolve to follow in the footsteps of the despised and rejected One to bring Your kingdom down.

We relinquish all things to You:

Our rights

Our desires

Our reputations

Our comforts

Break us if You must, mold us as You will. Create in us a humble and contrite heart. Teach us each day how to wash our brothers' feet with lives of humility and service, with words of forgiveness and love, 

We are in Your wise and merciful care.

We entrust ourselves to Your hands and to Your will.

You are God, and we, co-heirs with Your Son, commit ourselves again to the lives of authority that spring from a complete surrender to You.

Let Your kingdom come, Your will be done, here on earth as it is in heaven. 

1 Malachi 3:3
2 Ps. 51:17

3 Ps. 25:9
4 Ps. 25:14
5 Revelation 5: 10
6 1 Cor. 11:1