Step 4: “Thy Kingdom Come, Thy Will Be Done, On Earth As It Is In Heaven” - Seeking Transformation
The Nature of the Kingdom
In the fourth step of the Lord’s Prayer, we express our desire for God’s kingdom to become manifest in our lives and for God’s will to be expressed through us. The “kingdom” refers not to a physical place, but to a state of mind. With our present three-dimensional consciousness, we cannot see or understand how that which is all can express itself as an individual, how it can divide itself and not be divided. But intuitively, we can understand it.
The kingdom represents a higher state of consciousness that exists within each of us. And so, when we’re talking about your kingdom come, we’re talking about your mind beginning to function in me. Your state of mind, let it become my experience. Let your thoughts be my thoughts, your feelings be my feelings. Let your wisdom become my own, expressing in me in such a way that I do not lose my identity but I gain it.
Moving from Lower to Higher Consciousness
Contrast our normal state of consciousness with the state Jesus called “the kingdom of God” or “the kingdom of the heavens”.
I’m sure most of us will agree that in our ordinary or normal state, we do not live in the kingdom of God or the kingdom of the heavens. We live in the kingdom of make-believe or the kingdom of our own will be done or the kingdom of, gosh, I’m enjoying my suffering. We believe the kingdom of our own opinions are about how things should be.
Our normal state is “the kingdom of self-will run dry” where “God is surely not much in charge of things.” In contrast, the kingdom of God is that extraordinary state of consciousness where divine love, order, and intelligence are in control.
Earth and Heaven: Outer and Inner Experience
The phrase “on earth as it is in heaven” refers to bringing our outer life into alignment with our inner spiritual reality.
That this invisible world of pure being becomes my visible world of expression, that it becomes the cause, the force, the reason behind my total experience.
This means:
- Our visible life (“earth”) should reflect our spiritual nature (“heaven”)
- The divine order that exists in the spiritual realm should be made manifest in our material experience
- Our outer actions become expressions of our inner spiritual awareness
Surrendering to God’s Will
“Thy will be done” involves surrendering our personal will to align with divine will. However, this isn’t about losing our individuality.
Let your thoughts be my thoughts, your feelings be my feelings. Let your wisdom become my own, expressing me in such a way that I do not lose my identity but I gain it.
This surrender involves:
- Letting go of our limited, ego-based desires
- Aligning with your higher self
- Making the necessary effort through prayer, through meditation, through beginning to observe ourselves, putting off all things in us that are not like this higher self of us
A Process of Inner Transformation
Rather than changing outer conditions, this step focuses on changing our inner response to life. The system that we’re talking about is not designed to change conditions where you work, and it’s not so much designed either to change your physical condition, but while you are working where you work, you change your reaction, your response, your field attitude, a new state of mind.
The inner transformation eventually leads to outer change: As we work with our mind, the most remarkable thing happens. Conditions change, and even if they don’t, it doesn’t matter. It has nothing to do with us, because we will be changed.
The Fourth Dimension
Let’s call this higher consciousness as “the fourth dimension”:
We’re talking about a fourth dimension which is a transcendental mental reality that exists and is available to every person. It is that place from which Jesus walked and talked and loved and healed and spoke. It’s where the power is. It’s where the wisdom is, it’s where the love is.
This fourth-dimensional consciousness embraces and encompasses the three dimensions of space as well as the dimension of time. But in the most amazing way, while it encompasses them, it wipes them away, it clears them away.
The Implication for Our Lives
When we pray “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven,” we are committing to:
- Make the effort to shift our consciousness from self-will to divine will
- Allow our outer lives to become expressions of our inner spiritual nature
- Live from the place of higher wisdom that Jesus accessed
- Experience a transformation that makes us “fourth-dimensional persons”
- Enter into a state of mind from which we never need to descend unless we choose to do so
In summary: I’m willing to commit myself to putting aside all things in me that are not like it, that are not of it. I seek it with all my heart. I’m willing to go to any lengths to have this experience and to live in and from this experience.