At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore (Ps. 16: 11)
After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen (Matt. 6:9-13).
The petition right after thy kingdom come is the prayer that our Father would see to it that His will is accomplished on earth the same way as it is accomplished in Heaven. As already mentioned, the obvious meaning of this is that we are praying that we would be as obedient to the will of God here on earth as the angels are in Heaven. May God’s will for earth be done with the same alacrity that happens when He wills for something to be done for Him in Heaven. Presumably angels don’t do their chores while moping, grumbling, and dragging their feet. Delayed obedience is disobedience, and sluggish obedience is disobedience. So we are asking God to make us quick to hear His will, and just as quick to respond to it.
But we also noted another way to apply this request. Our Father is located in Heaven (ouranos), and we are talking about what happens in Heaven (ouranos), and just a moment before this petition, we all just hallowed the name of God the Father in Heaven. Putting this together, our desire should be to have the name of God glorified and lifted up on earth the same way we glorified and lifted it up in Heaven. If we flip this around, we will have a hard time asking God to establish His name in the earth if we have been trivializing it through our clichéd prayers and pop worship in the heavenly places.
So as His name is worshiped and hallowed properly here on earth, His kingdom comes to earth. It is, after all, the kingdom of Heaven. When we pray for the kingdom to come, we are asking for a reunification of Heaven and earth sadly divorced through the rebellion of man.
