When Heaven Comes to Earth
“This, then, is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name, Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.’” Matthew 6:9-10 (NIV)
Jesus taught Christ followers to pray a bodacious prayer in Matthew 6. He said, “This, then, is how you should pray ...” He didn’t say this is what you should pray, but how you should pray. The Lord’s Prayer is not necessarily a prayer to recite, so much as it teaches us how to pray with bold and confident faith expecting God to hear our prayer and bring heaven to earth! Jesus is giving His followers Divine principles for powerful prayers in what has become known as The Lord’s Prayer.
The Bible calls Christ followers’ ambassadors for Christ and we make up a royal priesthood of believers! In other words, when you were born again, you were born with royal blood flowing in your veins! As ambassadors for Christ, we are part of the Kingdom of God.
But what is the kingdom of God? When on trial before Pilate, Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world.” John 18:36 (NIV) Jesus’ purpose was to bring the kingdom of God to earth. God’s kingdom is wherever God, the King of Kings, is allowed to rule and reign. When we allow God to rule and reign in our hearts, we have the kingdom of God in our lives. If we allow God to rule and reign in our marriage, our union reflects heaven on earth! If we invite the rule and reign of God in our family, we experience the kingdom of God in our relationships. The same is true in our business. We bring heaven to earth when we pray, “Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” God longs for us to bring heaven to earth. But what does that look like? What does it look like for heaven to break through?
One of the first things that happens when heaven breaks through is that it shatters the darkness! The very first thing God created in Genesis 1:3 when the earth was formless and empty and full of darkness was light! Then, when sin destroyed God’s perfect creation, He sent His Son who said to a world in darkness, “I am the light of the world.” in John 9:5 (NIV) The prophet Isaiah predicted that when Jesus came, “The people walking in darkness (would see) a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.” Isaiah 9:2 (NIV2011)
John recognized that light and said, “In Him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.” John 1:4-5 (NIV/NLT) Heaven broke through and shattered the darkness! His light brought meaning and life to the walking dead in this world! When He puts His life in us, the light turns on and we discover our real purpose! No longer are we just merely existing, we begin to live the life God created us to live in all its fullness!
If you find yourself living in darkness with no meaning or sense of purpose in your life, open your heart to Christ and let heaven break through and shatter the darkness with the light of His life. To His own disciples, Jesus said, “In just a little while the world will no longer see Me, but you’re going to see Me because I am alive and you’re about to come alive.” John 14:19 (MSG)
When the light of heaven comes to earth, people come alive!