Meta description: Helps to know about the things that identify the citizen of heaven while he is here on earth.

Our prayers and our worship will only be acceptable to God if our riches and our home are in heaven. Belief in a life in heaven after death is one of the things that makes the Christian different from others in the world. Faith in the unseen and for the future separates the believer from the unbeliever. It separates the man who prays from the man who does not pray.

things that were future and unseen, the other cared only about what he could see and enjoy day by day. What did God say about them? He said, “I loved Jacob, but I hated Esau” (Romans 9:13). The difference between the children of God and children of the devil is the place of their riches. “For your heart will always be where your riches are” (Matthew 6:21).

People pray about the things that are most important to them. The early Christians were poor, but they were not unhappy. They suffered, but they did not complain. Heaven was very real to them. It was the place where their Father was, and therefore it was home to them. They cared nothing for this world. Their prayers were for strength, for patience, for faithfulness, and for love to forgive their enemies.

If they were delivered from danger and persecution, they rejoiced. If they were not delivered, they faced death without fear. Their persecutors could destroy their bodies, but they could not destroy their souls. The Christians knew that when death came they would be going home. They looked forward to being in their Father’s house.

A True Citizen:

You can usually tell what part of the country a man is from just by listening to him talk. Where we live has a lot to do with our actions—the way we do things. It is difficult for a foreigner to hide the fact he is not a true citizen.

You can also quickly recognize a citizen of heaven. His speech will reveal who he is. He may talk about things in this world, but if you wait a little while he will soon be talking about Jesus and about “home.” His speech will not be coarse and unkind. He will be slow to anger. His words will be truthful and loving.

You can know a citizen of heaven by his praying. The foreigner prays to his gods, but his prayers are without hope. His prayers are full of fear. Heaven's citizens pray with joy. They know that Jesus is alive and that He hears, even though they cannot see Him. They know that He is there and will answer!

You can know a citizen of heaven by his earthly home. You will not find hate and envy in it. There will not be any books or magazines with evil stories and pictures. You will hear singing, praying, and worshiping there. It will be full of peace and happiness. The home on earth can have a bit of heaven in it!

Pilgrims and Strangers in Heaven:

Sons of God are in the world, but they do not take part in the evils of the world. They are like a boat in the water. All is well as long as the water does not get into the boat.

Sons of God are strangers in this world. They are foreigners. They live here and they work here, but they do not belong here. They are from another country! They do not think like the citizens of this world. They do not value the same things. They set their affections on things above, and not on things on the earth!

That was how it was with Abraham. He lived in a tent. He did not consider the tent his home. He looked for a city whose builder and maker was God. This made his life different. This made his praying different.

He had wealth, but he did not seek wealth. His nephew, Lot, sought wealth and lost everything. Abraham sought the will of God above everything else; and God provided all that he needed. Heaven’s citizens pray for the right things!

It was the same with Moses. He chose to suffer with God’s children rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season. He did not pray for himself. He did not seek his own comfort. He sought to do the will of God. His rejoicing was in the fact that God’s people had been set free from Pharaoh. His happiness was because they were going home to the promised land. This hope made his work untiring and his prayers unselfish.

Paul’s prayers were seldom for personal deliverance. He prayed that the Word of God would be well received. He prayed for power to preach it. His heart and his home were in heaven. Paul said he would rather “go” than “stay.” Yet, he stayed, and he prayed, because there was much work to be done.

He was willing to be a foreigner, and to live in a strange country in order to bring the good news about Jesus to those who had not heard. He was willing to wait for awhile on earth so that he could add to the “progress and joy in the faith” of others who, like himself, were pilgrims here (Philippians 1:25).

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