On Earth as It Is in Heaven: A Prayer for Every Tribe and Nation
Written by Stephanie Clark, Director of Strategic Engagement
Our Father who art in heaven…
Each Sunday at my church, we pray the prayer our Savior taught us. For millions around the world, these words are prayed daily. It’s the prayer we turn to as followers of Jesus when we don’t know what to say. It is prayed in more languages than we can imagine.
“Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”
Thy kingdom come… on earth as it is in heaven.
This part has resonated deeply with me throughout the year.
When you think of the kingdom of God, a few images might come into your head: a mustard seed planted in a garden, or leaven kneaded into flour to make large, fluffy bread. The metaphors Jesus gives repeatedly are about growth. For me, they culminate in the vision given to the apostle John in the book of Revelation…
“After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!’”
For the sake of a short piece attempting to dive into some deep theology, I hope you will forgive me when I make some leaps and bounds. These images come together for me each time I pray this prayer. I picture this incredibly tiny mustard seed growing into a vast tree, its branches filled with people from every nation, tribe, language, and people group. It’s a weighty, beautiful vision – a weight of glory, if you will.
This has been my prayer all year and will continue to be. I am, first and foremost, a citizen of heaven. And I hope that if you are a follower of Jesus, you would say the same, no matter where you live. Yes, our governments must work to make immigration a better process, and I continually pray that God grants wisdom to those making these decisions.
But I also pray, as a citizen of heaven, that every tribe, every nation, every people group, with every language represented would be welcomed in. May God’s kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven.