DAY 19

KINGDOM COMING

JESS CIARAMITARO, CREATIVE DIRECTOR, THE WOODS CHURCH

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Matthew 6:9–10

For the past few years, our church staff has had the privilege of getting away for a two-day retreat. We rent a house on the water, share meals, laugh, and most importantly, pray. We set aside this time just before summer begins, with one main goal: to listen to the Lord and seek His direction for the fall.

This year, on day two, I woke early enough to watch the sun rise over Lake Huron. The brilliant hues of orange, pink, and red cutting across the horizon were breathtaking. But later that morning, during a time of individual prayer, I looked again for the horizon, and this time, I couldn’t find it. Fog had settled over the water, obscuring the divide between sky and lake. Heaven and earth seemed to be one; there was no separation. It was a blur of one bright, seamless gradient.

In that quiet moment, the Lord brought Jesus’ words to mind: Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

What a powerful image this was for what God desires to see take place in His church. His presence, so tangible among us, the separation between heaven and earth dissolved into one unified reality. Where the things that once separated us from all that Heaven holds are hidden in His presence and covered by Christ. Where we, in 2026, begin to see His Kingdom, His glory, and His will, manifest in ways we’ve only read about.

This gentle vision of an invisible horizon reminds me of what the early church looked like after Pentecost. After the whirlwind of wind and fire, something holy lingered—an atmosphere, a culture shaped by the Spirit, bridging the divide between heaven and earth:

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. Acts 2:42–47

What if 2026 is the year God pours out His grace on those who walk in obedience in ways we haven’t yet seen or even imagined? What if we became a people so captivated by our love for Christ, so full of His Spirit, that we willingly laid down the earthly things we cling to?

What might God be asking you to surrender to make room for His presence to move in even greater ways? I’m not talking just about sin or the burdens you're glad to be rid of. I’m talking about the deeper surrender: the surrender of the things you love most in this world: your dreams, your plans, the people and routines that you hold close. The things that shape your days and hold your heart.

It’s this kind of radical, costly surrender, where we die to ourselves, that creates space for more of Heaven. The less of us, the more of Him. And the result? His Kingdom will come. First in our own hearts, then in visible, undeniable ways to those around us. As His ambassadors, we’ll invite His thick presence into the world, the supernatural colliding with the natural in the most seamless, beautiful way.

PRAYER: Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be Your name. May Your Kingdom come and Your will be done in my life. Search my heart, and reveal anything that does not reflect Your Kingdom. Help me lay it down at Your feet. Make me an ambassador of Your Kingdom, an active participant in Your work on earth. Purify me through the Holy Spirit, and give me the courage to obey when You lead. Amen.