A primary teaching in the Lord’s Prayer is that prayer is us connecting and communing with God. Its pretty amazing when you stop to think about it . . . we get to talk with and share life with the creator God of the Universe. The Old Testament, beginning with the fall of man in Genesis 3, reveals God’s plan of how sinful humans can have relationship with a Holy God. Humans could not come to God on our own, and because of His Holiness, God would not come to man as He did before sin entered humanity. During the life of Moses God provided a temporary way for this to happen through the temple. The temple is an earthly representation of what heaven is like, most notably as the place where God dwells. In a very tangible way, the temple was a place on earth where heavenly things were done, which centered around communion with the God of heaven.

In the Lord’s Prayer when Jesus said, “Your Kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” we hear language that draws our attention to what was temporarily accomplished in the Old Testament Temple: Sinful humans could have communion with the Holy God of the Universe. To pray for God’s will to be on earth as it is in heaven is to fully engage in communion with God so that His kingdom will be seen here on earth. Ultimately, the Kingdom of God will be fulfilled in the age to come. However, scripture is clear that we can experience elements of that Kingdom while we are here on earth. So, When You Pray, Seek Heaven on Earth.