Matthew 6:10 (NIV): Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Many pray this petition as if they are praying for Jesus to return so that the kingdom of heaven can finally become a reality. But the kingdom of God is already a reality. It made its first appearance with the coming of Jesus. He embodied the kingdom of God, because in Him, God’s will was done on earth in the same way that it is done in heaven – immediately, flawlessly, and with no grumbling or compromise.
Jesus promised that some of His disciples would still be living and would see the kingdom of God when it came with power (Mark 9:1). Many have been taught that He was prophesying the Transfiguration, eight days later. But ALL of the disciples were still living at that time (even though not all of them witnessed it), not just SOME of them. What Jesus was foretelling was the day of Pentecost, when the power of the Holy Spirit was poured out on all of Jesus’ disciples, except Judas, who was no longer living because he had hanged himself six weeks earlier. This outpouring of the Holy Spirit brought the reality of the kingdom to all of Jesus’ followers. The Holy Spirit purified their hearts (cf. Acts 15:8-9), and gave them all the power that they needed to be witnesses, to release the captives of sin, and to bring unbelievable numbers of people into the kingdom.
From the day of Pentecost forward, the people of God have been able to live in the kingdom of heaven as a here-and-now reality. When Jesus instructed us to pray that the kingdom would come, He was urging us to pray that this reality of the kingdom would fill the whole earth; that the kingdom of this world would become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ (cf. Revelation 11:15); that the gospel would be preached to all people, and that vast numbers would come to Jesus for life. And with each new birth, God’s kingdom, the people who do God’s will as it is done in heaven, will grow.
Father, thank You that we get to live in the here-and-now reality of Your kingdom; that in the power of the Holy Spirit, we really can do Your will as it is done in heaven. Help us, ALL of Your people, to begin living out that reality today. May your kingdom come! Amen.