THY WILL BE DONE

Thy Will Be Done

What is the origin of this well-known saying? Is there a connection between it and the Kingdom of God? What does “Thy will be done” mean for us today?

Christ taught us to pray, “Thy will be done.” Behind this simple statement is an essential attitude every Christian must have. Watch this short video by Foundation Institute instructor Dave Myers to discover what this attitude is and what it should mean to you.

The phrase “Thy will be done” is found three times in the King James Version of the Bible. The first place it is found is in what has commonly been called the Lord’s Prayer. Actually, this was a model prayer that Jesus used to teach His disciples how to pray.

In the Lord’s Prayer

Jesus began His example of how to pray, saying, “After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:9-10, KJV, emphasis added throughout).

Luke recorded this same instruction from Jesus in his Gospel: “And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth” (Luke 11:2, KJV).

In this short outline, we see that the subject Jesus first brought up after addressing and showing honor to God the Father was God’s Kingdom. He tells us to pray for it to come to this earth and then He instructs us to pray that God’s will might be done here on earth even as it is being done in heaven.

Why pray for God’s will to be done?

Since God is all-powerful and “does whatever He pleases” (Psalm 115:3), why do we need to pray for His will to be done when His will is going to occur anyway? Have you ever considered that Christ may have included this in the model prayer in order to help us align our thinking and actions with God’s purpose and plan for us?