Matthew 6:10
“…Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
Hiroo Onoda was a Japanese soldier stationed on Lubang Island, Philippines, during World War II. When Japan surrendered in 1945, Onoda did not believe the war was over. He considered reports of Japan’s defeat to be enemy propaganda. For nearly thirty years, he remained in hiding, surviving and carrying out his mission in the Philippine jungle. Only on March 10, 1974, after his former commander came in person and gave an official order, did Onoda finally surrender.
This story is tragic, but it can serve as a mirror for many believers. Onoda lived in fidelity to a reality that had passed. In different ways, many Christians can experience something similar. We have been transferred into the Kingdom of God, yet we still live as if we belong to an old kingdom: the kingdom of the world, the kingdom of the self, in which we reign over our own lives.
When Jesus taught the Lord’s Prayer, He did not merely provide a liturgical formula. He was shaping the basic orientation of His disciples’ lives. The phrase, “Your kingdom come,” is not only an eschatological petition about the end times but also an act of surrender. Through that prayer, we say to God the Father: “Let Your rule be established over my life. Let Your will be the highest law within me. Let my life no longer be governed by my own desires, but by Your sovereignty.”
Saying that phrase sincerely will give us awareness of our identity as heavenly nobility, and this will change our whole perspective. The problem is that many Christians say this prayer without realizing its consequences. We want God’s Kingdom to come, yet we still want to keep our own kingdoms. We ask God to bless our lives, but are unwilling to let God rule them. We ask for God’s help with work, family, ministry, study, business, and our future, yet those often remain under our personal agendas. God is presented merely as a helper, not truly honored as King.
Salvation is not only a change of status from sinner to forgiven person. Salvation primarily concerns a transfer of spiritual citizenship (Phil. 3:20). Peter states this very clearly that believers are “a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people” (1 Pet. 2:9). Note Peter’s choice of words: people, priesthood, and nation. These are terms that refer to matters of kingship. This means believers can no longer live as people without a kingdom—as untamed individuals who walk according to their own tastes, ambitions, and wills; for we are God’s people, a kingdom nation, living under His rule.
This awareness is crucial because, without a consciousness of heavenly nobility, Christianity easily becomes a religion centred on human needs. By praying to the Father, “Your kingdom come,” we are required to ask: “Who really rules my life? Is God the Father truly my King, or am I still king over myself? Is my work done for the glory of God, or only to build my name and comfort? Is my family led to please the Lord, or only to fulfil my own happiness? Is my ministry truly for God’s Kingdom, or secretly a stage for myself?”
Following Jesus means living as a member of heavenly nobility. Work is not merely a means of livelihood but a place to demonstrate integrity and God’s will. Money is no longer a tool for self-gratification but a stewardship to be managed for the Lord’s purposes. Time is no longer personal property, but opportunities to fulfil the Father’s will. Family becomes a place for forming godly character, not merely seeking personal pleasure.
This is the essence of Christian life: accepting God’s rule over the whole life. “Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” means our lives on earth must be places where God’s will is obeyed as in heaven. So, each time we say, “Your kingdom come,” we are surrendering the throne of our hearts to God. We are learning to stop owning our lives and proudly confess that we are God’s people.