Much has been written about the first line in the Lord’s Prayer. Here’s my two cents worth.
Our Father who art in heaven…
Heaven is not heaven because it is the only place holy enough for God. Heaven is heaven because that is where God is. Where God is, there is heaven.
So where is God? (In heaven is a cheap non-answer.)
The Bible says that God is everywhere, in and among and around and of every thing and every place. (See Psalm 139 for just one example.) God is omnipresent. So if heaven is where God is, and God is every where, then heaven is every where too. It is here, now. We are in heaven. Only we are not aware of it.
It is kind of like a baby in the womb. The baby is in and a part of the world, but not aware of it yet. The baby may perceive little glimpses of things outside the womb, but they are fuzzy and strange and unbelievable. We are in and a part of heaven, but not yet aware of it. We percieve little glimpses of things outside our world, things from heaven. They are fuzzy and strange and usually unbelievable.
And that makes death more like birth instead of an end to our existence. It is a change in awareness, if we choose it, and are open to it.
Our Father who art in heaven…
We are not citizens of this world trying to make our way to heaven; we are citizens of heaven trying to make our way through this world … we live as those who are on a journey home; a home we know will have the lights on and the door open and our Father waiting for us when we arrive. — The Landisfarne