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But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you (Matthew 6:33, NASB1995).
For 55 years, Matthew 6:33 has been a top-three significant verse for me (the other two are Romans 13:14 and Romans 12:1). I review this verse before major decisions, asking this question, “Is this (decision) seeking first the Kingdom of God?”
Admittedly, my first motivation for seeking first the Kingdom of God in Matthew 6:33 was the phrase “all these things will be added to you.” Amen! I wanted “all these things” in my life. Though when many of my early “God bless me with all things” prayers remained unanswered, I began to realize there’s another guiding principle for “all these things,” and that would be “His righteousness.”
The open challenge of Matthew 6:33, which includes both “all these things” and “righteousness,” fits with this instruction…
You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures (James 4:3).
When I balanced my prayers with both Matthew 6:33’s “all things” and “His righteousness,” my answers increased. Jesus teaches this balance in John 14:14, “If you ask Me anything in My name…” Amen! This is also followed in John 14:15 with, “If you love me, you will keep My commandments.”
With “all things” along with “righteousness” and “anything in My name” coupled with “keeping My commandments,” we know that God isn’t a celestial blessing AI avatar answering our typed prompts, but the Sovereign Ruler of the universe, who
loves us deeply and wants to answer godly prayers.
Another question that I’ve added to “Does this (decision) further the Kingdom of God?” has been, “Is this God’s will for me?” I learned to ask about God’s will from this passage…
Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.” Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that” (James 4:13-15).
Prayers that seek first the Kingdom get specific when asking for God’s will and help me check the “answered” box on my prayer lists. God wants me to ask according to righteousness and obedience, but He also desires that I know His intentions for me, His will that’s detailed and impossible without His help, and praying accordingly, opening the floodgates of power in prayer.
Testimonies from my life…
- Every time that I’ve prayed for someone to disciple, someone to disciple shows up.
- Every one of almost 100 short-term mission trips that I’ve made has been provided with the necessary funds.
- Every time that I’ve sought peace in a difficult situation, I’ve found it. Not without struggle, but there has been a breakthrough into the presence of God.
Answered prayer comes from seeking first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness — and asking according to His will.