CHRISTIANITY
LIFE
IN PROGRESS
What It Really Means to Pray, “Thy Will Be Done” Why did Jesus include “Thy will be done” in the model prayer that He gave the disciples? What exactly are we praying for when we ask God to do His will?
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hen Jesus taught the disciples how to pray, He gave them a template that began with these words: “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). (The centuries-old King James Version has the arguably more well-known rendition of verse 10, which reads, “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.”) But what does that mean? When we pray to God, “Thy will be done,” what is it that we’re actually requesting from Him? And how should that affect the things we pray for and how we pray for them?
What is the will of God? Three categories
Understanding the will of God is a mammoth undertaking beyond the capabilities of any human being. God tells us bluntly, “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:9). God operates on a level so far above our own that it would be a challenge just to wrap our minds around the sheer scale of His plans—to say nothing of analyzing the content of those plans.
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DISCERN
What we can do, though, is examine the will of God in three slightly more bite-size categories: what God wants to happen, what God allows to happen, and what God will absolutely make happen. By taking a closer look at these three categories, we’ll be better equipped to wrap our minds around what exactly the will of God encompasses. And, by extension, we’ll be better equipped to know what exactly we’re asking for when we pray, “Thy will be done.”
What God wants to happen
God reveals what He wants to happen through His precepts—that is, His commandments and instructions about how He expects us to live. (This has been called God’s preceptive will.) The 10 Commandments are an important glimpse into what God wants to happen: Put God first. Don’t worship idols. Don’t take God’s name in vain. Remember the Sabbath day. Honor your parents. Respect and preserve the lives of others. Treat marriage as the sacred thing it is. Don’t take what isn’t yours. Be honest. Stop wishing you had what your neighbor has. In the New Testament, Jesus summarized those 10 precepts with two other Old Testament precepts: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with
November/December 2020
