Jesus started out the prayer with "Our Father, who is in heaven" identifying for us the center of God's dominion. Revelation 12 and Isaiah 14 remind us that due to Lucifer's rebellion he was cast down to the earth because there was no longer a place for him in heaven. With Lucifer's removal from heaven God's will is perfectly carried out within the confines of heaven - Lucifer has no power there!
Earth, however is a different story. According to Genesis 1 when God created the earth He gave dominion over it (and everything in it) to Adam and Eve, telling them to "fill it" and "subdue it". They are told to "rule over" the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and every living thing that moves on the earth. They became the administrators of God's will on the new planet that God had created. With their sin they relinquished their role to Satan, granting him the right to "rule over the earth."
From the moment of Adam and Eve's sin God set out to redeem not just Adam and Eve, but the whole earth - and everything in it. Jesus came to this earth for that very purpose. The three temptations of Christ recorded in Matthew 4 and Luke 4 indicate that Satan understood that purpose. Two of the temptations focused on whether God could be believed but the third one focuses on the dominion of the world and gaining it back God's way (each author records the sequence differently but includes the same three temptations). In Matthew 4:8-11 the devil takes Jesus to a "very high mountain" indicating that they were all alone - what happens on the mountain, stays on the mountain, no one needs to know. He then tells Jesus, "I know that God has said that you must die a cruel and tortuous death to win back dominion over the earth, but I have got an easier way. All you need to do is show me the respect that I am due, bow down and worship me, and I will give it back - do it my way, not God's, and it is all yours!"
Jesus chose to do it God's way, even though it lead through a temporary separation from the Father. Steve Fischer preached a sermon a number of years ago called "The Greatest News of the Gospel" stating that the good news of the gospel is that Jesus died for us, but the greatest news is that He didn't stay dead - He is alive! As the first fruits of the grave, a resurrection not to die again as Lazarus and the others that Jesus raised from the dead did, but one to eternal life forever in the presence of the Father.
As a result of Jesus' resurrection we know that the redemption of this earth is secure even if Satan's dominion over the earth has not yet been completely taken away. As believers in Jesus we are His ambassadors to this earth declaring His rightful dominion. How do we, as His representatives on earth, help Him establish His kingdom and His will "on earth as it is in heaven."
