The Lord’s Prayer (3)

On Earth As It Is In Heaven

Matthew 6:10 CSB

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

In the story of Dominion Company taking over Independent Company, the new management arrives, determined not to dismantle but to renew and rebuild a struggling company.

They bring a new culture and a new set of values, determined to invite everyone into a brighter future.

This parallels God’s Kingdom breaking into our fallen world.

God, in His mercy, does not abandon or destroy sinners; He comes to rescue, restore, and invite us into His family under the reign of His Son.

When Jesus teaches us to pray, “Your kingdom come” (Matthew 6:10), He places it near the very top of our petitions—right after giving honour and glory to God (“Hallowed be your name”).

This shows us the priority of praying for God’s royal rule to be established on earth.

Think about how important this is, especially in our pursuit of unlearning a way of prayer that doesn’t really work in our lives, even as believers.

The very first thing Jesus teach us to request in prayer is For God’s Kingdom to come on earth as it is in heaven.

Praying for God’s Kingdom Rescues Us from a Narrow Life

In Matthew 6:33, Jesus reminds us that if we “seek first the kingdom of God,” all our anxieties will fade, and everything we truly need will be given to us.

This promise isn’t just a theory.

When our prayers center on God’s Kingdom, our vision is lifted beyond our own worries, wants, and personal pursuits.

In a way, Independent Company only ever thought about its own bottom line—pull your weight or you’re dead weight!

But Dominion’s new leadership arrives with a bigger plan—one that values the restoration of people, the cultivation of a healthy community, and grace for those who struggle.

Likewise, orienting our lives and prayers toward the rule and reign of Christ rescues us from our own self-interest and places us in the grand story of God’s redemptive work in the world.

We may still pray for comfort, daily needs, and happiness for ourselves and others.

But as we prioritise God’s Kingdom, we discover that our greatest comfort and joy are found in the fulfilment of His purposes.

As Herman Witsius puts it, “In this kingdom all our happiness is placed.”

You can pray for your own happiness without ever praying for God’s Kingdom—but you cannot pray for God’s Kingdom in all honesty and miss out on true happiness and fulfilment.

And I want to share a little principle I’ve been living by for many years but let me warn you that it requires active faith but at the same time it deals with your greatest worries, fears and anxieties.

I have learned (and still growing into this revelation), to present myself before God and give myself fully to Him.

I have caught this little kingdom secret based on Matthew 6:33 by pledging my allegiance to the King of the World and sit down at His table to understand His desires, His purposes and plans for this world and ask Him to receive me as an ambassador of His interests.

I live to advance God’s interests in this world before everything else!

· The first prayer request is “Your Kingdom Come”

· The first thing we seek after is His Kingdom

And the promise is as simple as this: “AND ALL OTHER THINGS WILL BE ADDED TO YOU”.

Think about it this way: If you learn to add value to your company, the board of directors will go out of their way to keep you there. This looks like salary increase, benefits, bonuses, extra holidays, reimbursement for personal costs, rewards and so on.

There is a big difference between people who go to work to make money and those who go to work because they love it.

And for those who are in any form of leadership, be it team manager or director, you are attracted to those who love their work and advance the interests of your company or team.

My question then for you is this: Could it be that God’s Kingdom works in a similar way?

That if God finds among us people who are dedicated to fulfil the interests of His Kingdom and pray for His kingdom to come on earth and in their lives and seek first His kingdom before other kingdoms (including the kingdom of self), wouldn’t He look after us?

Before we can pray, ‘Thy kingdom come’, we must be willing to pray, ‘My kingdom go’.

Alan Redpath

Is it by chance that we are called to pray for and seek first His Kingdom before we ask for our daily bread and needs and wants?

For those of you who feel overwhelmed by fear and anxiety in this season of your lives, please allow me to ask you this question: Have You Been With God Recently?

· The peace your mind so desperately needs is found in praying His Kingdom into your life and the lives of those around you.

· The love your heart craves for so much is not found in the acceptance and applause of people around you but in seeking FIRST His Kingdom

· Every need, every desire, every bit of happiness and breath of fresh air you gasp for right now is only one prayer away “Father, Hallowed be Your Name, Your Kingdom Come On Earth As It Is In Heaven”

Now, what does it mean to pray for His Kingdom to Come?

What Do We Mean by “Your Kingdom Come”?

The Westminster Shorter Catechism (Q.102) teaches that when we pray this petition, we are really asking for three things:

Destroy the kingdom of darkness. We acknowledge that while Christ has won the decisive victory over sin and Satan, the evil one still seeks to blind and devour

1 Peter 5:8 CSB

Be sober-minded, be alert. Your adversary the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour.

Praying “Your kingdom come” means asking God to overthrow Satan’s strongholds and to bring liberation where darkness reigns.

Notice how prayer itself becomes a form of holy defiance.

Praying, says theologian Karl Barth, is “the beginning of an uprising against the disorder of the world.”

When we pray for God’s Kingdom to destroy the kingdom of darkness, we are aligning ourselves with Christ’s rightful rule and rebelling against the tyranny of Satan.

Advance the kingdom of grace. The “kingdom of grace” is the church—those who already bow the knee to Christ. Here, we ask God to strengthen, grow, and purify His people so they shine brightly in a dark world.

We pray for healthy local congregations, for genuine unity among believers, and for repentance and realignment wherever we’ve drifted.

Notice in the corporate story: the Dominion team doesn’t just throw people away. They restore, retrain, and reintegrate as many as possible.

In the same way, God’s Kingdom is about rebuilding the broken, giving second chances, and calling more souls into the joy of belonging to Jesus.

Hasten the kingdom of glory. Ultimately, we look forward to that day when Christ will return to fully establish His Kingdom “on earth as it is in heaven.”

We pray for Christ to come quickly (Revelation 22:20), for justice and righteousness to flood the earth (Hebrews 7:2; Isaiah 42:1–4), and for the day when God’s people see their Lord face to face (1 Corinthians 13:12).

This future hope transforms how we handle present sorrows,

2 Corinthians 4:17 CSB

For our momentary light affliction is producing for us an absolutely incomparable eternal weight of glory.

Realigning Our Hearts and Hopes

Praying “Your kingdom come” means surrendering our own “Independent Compay” mindset and embracing the leadership of our gracious King.

It is a bold, daily confession that this world belongs to God and that He has the right—and the intention—to restore it.

By centering our prayers on God’s glory and His coming reign, we allow His purposes to shape our desires, our decisions, and our hopes.

We pray for darkness to be driven back in our cities, families, and world.

We pray for our churches to be vibrant outposts of God’s transforming grace.

We pray for Christ’s final appearing and the renewal of all things.

Such prayer draws us out of the kingdom of self and immerses us in the unstoppable plan of God.

Like the transition team in our opening story, we are part of an unfolding rescue mission—one that invites every willing heart to come under the good leadership of the true King.

And so, we cry out with Jesus Himself: “Father, let Your Kingdom come!”

YOUR WILL BE DONE ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN

Understanding God’s Will

When Jesus teaches us to pray, “Your will be done,” He reminds us that prayer is not a means for our will to be done in heaven, but for God’s will to be done on earth.

As Robert Law put it, “Prayer is a mighty instrument, not for getting man’s will done in heaven, but for getting God’s will done in earth.”

God’s Will Is Good, Acceptable, and Perfect.

The Bible affirms in Romans 12:2

Romans 12:2 CSB

Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.

Because He is our Father in heaven, infinite in knowledge, love, and power, it is silly to resist His will and wise to accept it.

We Make Christ a King in Title Only If We Don’t Obey Him.

In the same way that Independent Company could only enjoy Dominion’s blessings by accepting the new leadership and its values, we cannot truly call Christ “King” without doing His will. Otherwise, we are only giving Him a title while refusing His authority.

1 Samuel 3:18 CSB

So Samuel told him everything and did not hide anything from him. Eli responded, “He is the Lord. Let him do what he thinks is good.”

Hear me out dear child of God:

“Let Your Father Do What He Thinks Is Good”

Let Your Father’s heart shape your decisions, actions, and desires.

Praying “Your will be done” is an act of surrender:

Surrendering to God’s Will in Every Circumstance

We see the most moving example of surrender in Jesus’ own prayer in Gethsemane (Matthew 26:39, 42).

Facing betrayal, arrest, torture, and a horrific crucifixion, He prayed, “Not my will, but yours be done.”

Jesus’ Costly Submission

The will of the Father necessitated the cross—Christ’s suffering and death—to accomplish the redemption of the world.

When Jesus prayed in agony, sweating drops of blood, the Father’s answer was indeed “Yes, Son, My will be done.” That “Yes” meant the cup of suffering would not pass from Him.

We often assume God’s “Yes” means personal comfort or rescue from hardship.

But Jesus’ example shows that God’s “Yes” can sometimes lead us through suffering to bring about a greater, eternal purpose.

We also have Our Own Gethsemane Moments

We, too, will face moments when God’s will confronts our own desires.

True obedience may cost us relationships, comfort, or dreams.

But as we embrace God’s will, we do so knowing He is a loving Father working all things for good (Romans 8:28).

In the same way the Dominion CEO had a larger plan for the failing company, God’s bigger plan can require us to let go of immediate wants for the sake of His grander design.

“On Earth as It Is in Heaven”

When we pray for God’s will to be done “on earth as it is in heaven,” we’re asking that life here might increasingly reflect heavenly realities.

Heaven on Earth

In heaven, God’s will is obeyed perfectly, joyfully, and immediately.

We pray for that same kind of obedience to spread among us and through us.

When Christ’s reign takes hold of our hearts, homes, churches, and communities, we get a foretaste of the new creation to come (Revelation 21:1–4

Revelation 21:1–4 CSB

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. I also saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared like a bride adorned for her husband. Then I heard a loud voice from the throne: Look, God’s dwelling is with humanity, and he will live with them. They will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them and will be their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; grief, crying, and pain will be no more, because the previous things have passed away.

Our prayers are vital to this. The Holy Spirit empowers us, and the more we pray, “Your will be done,” the more our hearts and actions align with God’s saving agenda.

From Prayer to Practice

“The purpose of prayer is to glorify God’s name, and to ask help to accomplish His will on earth.”

We don’t merely pray these words but live them.

We show our sincerity by offering our lives as living sacrifices (Romans 12:1), seeking holiness, unity, and love.

In the corporate story, Dominion’s transitional team was sent to bring Independent’s culture in line with Dominion. Likewise, as believers, we are “transition agents,” praying and working for the transformation of hearts, families, and societies under God’s good and gracious will.

4. Prayer That Aligns Us with God’s Will

God-Focused Prayer

This section of the Lord’s Prayer starts and ends with God’s interests: His name, His kingdom, His will (Matthew 6:9–10).

Before we focus on our own needs, we align ourselves under His sovereignty.

As we do so, we become more confident that any request we make “in His name”will also be shaped by His heart.

John 14:13 CSB

Whatever you ask in my name, I will do it so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

The Joy of Submission

Far from being oppressive, God’s will leads to freedom and joy.

“In this kingdom all our happiness is placed.” (Herman Witsius)

By submitting our desires to the Father, we avoid many pitfalls of self-will and find deeper satisfaction in God’s perfect plans.

A Call to Active Obedience

As we pray, “Your will be done,” we are also committing ourselves to do His will.

It’s not passive resignation; it’s an active pursuit of the good works God prepared in advance for us (Ephesians 2:10).

Let us lift up prayers that introduce a heaven upon earth, for we show the coming of Christ’s kingdom by real, lived-out obedience—obedience that testifies to a watching world that King Jesus reigns.

Conclusion

When we pray, “Your Kingdom Come and Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven,” we join a powerful uprising against evil and disorder—beginning in our own hearts and extending to every corner of creation.

We look to Jesus in Gethsemane, who showed perfect submission to the Father’s will, even when it led Him to the cross.

We trust that God’s answers, whether “Yes,” “No,” or “Not yet,” are always in line with His infinite wisdom and love.

And we look forward to the day when earth will fully mirror heaven—a day we help usher in now through our prayers, obedience, and faithful service under our true King.

So let us pray as Jesus taught us, “Father, let Your Kingdom Come and let Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”

May our lives bear witness to that prayer

Habakkuk 2:14 CSB

For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord’s glory, as the water covers the sea.

Amen!