“Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” Matt 6:10

Ah. Heaven. Such a mysterious place to think about. Many of us, when we imagine heaven, we often picture fluffy cotton candy clouds, rainbows, bright lights, white robes, halos, maybe even a few angel wings filled with soft white feathers. Or if you’re like me, I used to imagine it looking kind of like the matrix, all white, no noise, an empty void where nothing much happened. A place where a pen could drop and it might echo for centuries. By the grace of God, I have a new view of heaven. If you don’t know by now, heaven is a very real place. A place where many followers of Christ hope to live forever in eternity with God. See, God created heaven on purpose and for a purpose. That’s why God creates things in general, for a purpose. He created tax collectors and the weather. And yes, he created mosquitoes for a purpose just like He created you for a purpose. The first line of The Bible in Genesis 1:1 says, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” Interestingly, the heavens are the very first thing God created. Why is that? The Bible actually tells us a lot about heaven, what it will be like, and what we can look forward to without spoiling too many juicy details. After all, being mysterious is one of God’s chief characteristics. But we know it will not be like the earth we live in nor the sky we look up to. It will be undoubtedly more beautiful than any mountainous sunrise or west coast sunset. In Revelation 21, it tells us, there will be a new heaven and a new earth; where there will be no weeping, no sorrow, and no pain. Laughter, dancing, streets of gold, and perhaps a book with your name written in it. Most importantly, there will be Jesus. Awaiting with arms wide open for every new arrival. Armies of angels cheering every time someone commits their heart to Jesus. But, I have some sobering news for you. It’s fun getting lost in the idea of how great heaven will be but there’s still a lot of life to be lived here on earth before that time comes for you and I. So, what do we do with all that time? Sit around waiting for heaven? No! That’s certainly not what The Bible tells us to do. Remember the scripture that opened the chapter? Let’s read the words of Jesus in its entirety, 

“This, then, is how you should pray:

“‘Our Father in heaven,

hallowed be your name, 

your kingdom come,

your will be done,

on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.

And forgive us our debts,

as we also have forgiven our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation

but deliver us from the evil one.”

Jesus, in this passage, is teaching His disciples how to pray and more importantly what to pray. “Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” This prayer is telling us to seek to have heaven here on earth. How can we possibly have heaven on earth? We know we can because Jesus tells us to pray for it. In the next chapter Matthew 7, it reads, “Seek and you shall find. Ask and it shall be given. Knock and the door will be opened.” Let me ask you a question. Are you asking for heaven on earth or are you simply just living on earth? Glimpses of heaven exist all around us if we have eyes open to see and ears clear to hear. I know having heaven on earth exists simply because God himself aka Jesus prayed for it and many people, along with myself, have been earnestly praying the infamous Matthew 6 prayer for thousands of years. Those prayers have been heard and those corporate and individual prayers have been answered. God wants us to communicate with Him. Why? We were created to have a real relationship with Him through His Son Jesus. God, The Father, the one in the prayer Jesus taught the disciples, lives in heaven. “Our Father, who art in heaven”. Yeah, that’s not just some fancy smancy way of praying. It’s literal. God dwells in heaven and it is His ultimate desire to have you come live with Him there. The only way this is possible is through Jesus. In John 14, when Jesus is telling the disciples that he must go away (back to heaven). He drops a very important piece of information for humanity’s quest for God. He says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me.” But like I expressed previously. That time will come. That’s why we have Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. Who if you didn’t know existed in the very beginning of time…yes, even before the heavens but that’s another point for another day. We can simply have heaven on earth because we have Jesus inside of our hearts and since the trinity (God, Son, and Holy Spirit) are in us, heaven is in us. Heaven quite literally made its way to earth in the form of a baby that one starry night in Bethlehem. Heaven invaded the earth in the most humble way and erupted history forever. Heaven did not leave when Jesus ascended back to be with His Father but gave us a crucial piece of heaven called our comforter, or The Holy Spirit. God is in us. Have you ever met someone or a stranger and thought to yourself? Wow, they were so kind. They must’ve been an angel. They gave you a slice of heaven. Maybe it was an experience that made you feel light as a feather, exploding with joy, and blanketed in peace. Whether you know it or not, you are someone’s slice of heaven. Every person that has accepted Jesus into their heart as Lord and Savior has heaven inside of them. What we do with that is important and has the ability to change our lives, other people’s lives, and the world. That’s not to toss out an optional suggestion. That’s exactly what the disciples did and all the brave men and women before us who carried the message of Christ this far.

The Word tells us that the Holy Spirit lives inside our bodies like a temple. So did you know that a slice of heaven lives inside of you too? Wherever you go – God goes before you, behind you, inside you, and all around you. “It is the LORD who goes before you; he will be with you and will never fail you or forsake you. So do not fear or be dismayed.” Deuteronomy 31:8

You can have heaven in your home. Yes, even with little children. “…As for me and my house we will serve the Lord.” Joshua 24:15

You can have heaven in the workplace and in your classroom. You have the power and authority of Christ to change the atmosphere of a room simply because you’re there. And if you’re in Christ and He is in you, then He is there too!

You can experience heaven in your marriage, family, and relationships. Probably one of my favorites is that we can have heaven in your mind. “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.” Col. 3:2 With your head “in the clouds” set your minds on heaven! King David knew to lift his mind’s eye to the skies and declared,  “I lift up my eyes to the hills– where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.” Psalm 121:1

Heaven in your health. Heaven in your heart. Heaven on earth. What does that mean? Heaven is a perfect place. Perfect unity and harmony with the Father are awaiting us in heaven. Perfect alignment of our spirits and our new bodies. If you’re needing healing then look to heaven and look to the one who WAS and IS perfect in our place; Jesus. For by His stripes we are healed. The perfect lamb who was slain for us that we might find and accept perfection to be found in Him. 2 Corinthians 5 tells us our bodies ache and groan for heaven because we know we belong there with our Maker. May we always be reaching heavenward.

Finally, you can have heaven be released from you to others! Jesus has released us to go into the world as seasoning for the unseasoned (salt) and light amongst the dark. He has commanded us to bring His good news to the ends of the earth. He has called us to bring the sweetness of heaven into people’s bitter days. My prayer today is that you would see that heaven is not too far away. There are little chunks of heaven to be experienced everyday. So keep seeking heaven. And when you find it, you might realize all along that heaven was in fact seeking you.

Heather Savonne is a worship leader and singer/songwriter living in Houston, TX. She attended Wayland Baptist University in Plainview, TX where she got a B.S. in psychology and English minor. Heather is working on her first solo worship album and loves to encourage women in their daily walk with God on all of her social media platforms. Heather is married to her husband of 3 years, Lea, who has a ministry called Childish Faith Ministries where they both serve as worship leaders, kingdom creators, and partner with local ministries to highlight Christian creatives.