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?

The phrase “Thy will be done” is found three times in the King James Version of the Bible. (In the New King James Version it is translated with the more modern “Your will be done.”)

The first place it is found is in what has commonly been called the Lord’s Prayer or the “Our Father” prayer. Actually, this was a model prayer that Jesus used to teach His disciples how to pray.

“Thy will be done” 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. (Study more about this in our article “Thy Kingdom Come.”) He tells us to pray for the Kingdom of God 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.

On earth as it is in heaven meaning

What did Jesus mean, “Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven”? Of course, God rules everything, but there is a difference now between how He rules heaven and earth.

The Believer’s Bible Commentary notes, “On earth as it is in heaven. This phrase modifies all three preceding petitions. The worship of God, the sovereign rule by God, and the performance of His will are all a reality of heaven. The prayer is that these conditions might exist on earth as they do in heaven.”

Currently, God has allowed Satan to be “the god of this age” (2 Corinthians 4:4), with the whole world under his evil sway (1 John 5:19). Soon Jesus Christ will return and Satan will be removed (Revelation 20:1-3). Then Christ and His saints will set up the Kingdom of God over the earth (verse 4). We pray for that time to be soon.

In the meantime, followers of Christ strive to praise God, obey the laws of His Kingdom and do God’s will now on earth in the same way these things are done in heaven. In this way we are ambassadors for the coming Kingdom of God.

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?

Learn more about God's plan for all mankind in The Mystery of the Kingdom booklet.

When we pray for God’s will to be done before we ask Him for “our daily bread” (Matthew 6:11), our daily needs and wants, we acknowledge that what God is doing is more important than our activities.

This subtle, yet significant point reminds us of our spiritual priorities. God’s plan and purpose for our lives—His will—must come first in our lives.

What is God’s will?

God’s purpose for creating human beings is for them to ultimately become members of His family and live with Him forever in His eternal Kingdom. This process begins with humans created as physical, mortal beings who must hear and respond to God’s instructions as given through His prophets and His Son, Jesus Christ.

Explaining Christ’s background and reason for coming in the flesh, John wrote: “He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:10-13).

In this passage, we note that it is God’s will for humans to respond to Him and become His children.

God the Father is the One who calls people (John 6:44). After receiving this calling, we must repent of our sins, be baptized and have hands laid upon us to receive the Holy Spirit. Through the indwelling of God’s Spirit, we change and become converted.

Describing this process, Paul wrote: “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Romans 12:2).

Addressing the same process to the Corinthians, Paul explained: “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord” (2 Corinthians 3:18).

God’s will for us is that we gradually change from humans with natural, human actions and ways of thinking, which are not in harmony with God’s laws, to people who think and act like God.

The Kingdom of God and God’s will

Although God is all-powerful, He has temporarily allowed an evil spirit called Satan the devil to influence mankind. Satan is referred to in the Bible as “the god of this age,” who has blinded the minds of people who do not believe (2 Corinthians 4:4). Through deception and lies, he “deceives the whole world” (Revelation 12:9).

God’s will for us is that we gradually change from humans with natural, human actions and ways of thinking, which are not in harmony with God’s laws, to people who think and act like God.At this time, God’s Kingdom does not reign over the earth as it does in heaven, where God is. Yet God’s Kingdom is destined to take over all the kingdoms of this world. Long ago, God gave the prophet Daniel a vision of this change.

“I was watching in the night visions, and behold, One like the Son of Man, coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought Him near before Him. Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom the one which shall not be destroyed” (Daniel 7:13-14).

The seventh seal of the book of Revelation pictures the return of Jesus Christ to this earth to establish the Kingdom of God.

Describing the vision he had seen of this future event, John wrote: “Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, ‘The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!’” (Revelation 11:15).

As for this process of all the governments of man being replaced by the Kingdom of God, this is the point Jesus was making in His model prayer when He taught us to pray “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10).

In our communication with God, we are to pray for this momentous change that will mark the end of Satan’s influence and human misrule, and the establishment of the Kingdom of God on earth to bring peace, prosperity and stability to all peoples.

A “Thy will be done” attitude

Prior to His crucifixion, Jesus prayed to His Father about the great trial He would face. Knowing the pain He would soon experience, “He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done” (Matthew 26:42, KJV).

This is the third and final time we find the phrase “Thy will be done” in the King James Version of the Bible.

In this case, even though Jesus would have preferred not to have suffered as He did, He yielded to God’s will. This prayer raises an interesting question: Was Jesus unaware of His Father’s will about His upcoming crucifixion? A few scriptures provide insight.

Revelation 13:8 speaks of Jesus as “the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” This means that God’s plan for His Son to give His life for the sins of the world existed from the very beginning.

Furthermore, Jesus had taught His disciples that His ministry would include giving up His life. “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up” (John 3:14).

Later, He again taught, “And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself” (John 12:32).

So why did Jesus pray that He might not have to suffer crucifixion, yet at the same time also yield to the will of His Father?

Could it be that, as He had done regarding baptism (see Matthew 3:14-15), He was modeling the behavior we need to practice?

Even though Jesus wasn’t looking forward to the suffering He would have to endure, He was completely committed to fulfilling the will of His Father. As Jesus explained, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work” (John 4:34).

Our priorities

As we live our lives, we need to have similar “Thy will be done” attitudes. Living in accordance with God’s will must be our top priority. Seeking God’s Kingdom and His righteousness must be the primary focus of our lives (Matthew 6:33).

If we do as God commands, we can look forward to hearing these wonderful words: “Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (Matthew 25:34).

To learn more about God’s will for you, be sure to read the articles in this section on the “Kingdom of God,” as well as “What It Really Means to Pray, ‘Thy Will Be Done’” and “What Is God’s Will for Me?” We also recommend you study our booklet Change Your Life.

Thy Kingdom Come

 

What is so important about the coming Kingdom of God? Why did Jesus teach us to pray “Thy kingdom come” in what’s often called the Lord’s Prayer?

Early in the ministry of Jesus Christ, His disciples asked Him to teach them how to pray. He then gave what is commonly known as the Lord’s Prayer, which is an outline of specific principles to pray about rather than a set of words to be repeated every time one prays.

Pray “Thy kingdom come”

After teaching them to address their prayers to God the Father, He said to pray, “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth” (Luke 11:2, King James Version, emphasis added throughout). Why pray “Thy kingdom come”?

During His earthly ministry, Jesus often preached about the Kingdom of God. In Matthew 24:14 He tells us that “this gospel [message of good news] of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all nations, and then the end will come.” He further tells us to “seek first the kingdom of God” (Matthew 6:33). Why?

Jesus went on to say there would be a time of “great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved” (Matthew 24:21-22).

What does this mean for us? Why will mankind come to the brink of annihilation?

Humans can’t solve life’s most difficult problems

Six thousand years of human history have shown that man cannot solve his problems with other humans, short of going to war.

“Although war has been a near constant in the human condition (estimates are that over the last 3,500 years there have been only 230 years of peace throughout the civilized world), it is the past 100 years that will undoubtedly be remembered as the military century. Of all war fatalities over the past half millennium, fully three-quarters occurred during the twentieth century—including roughly 26 million in World War I and 53 million in World War II” (Michael C. Kearl, Encyclopedia of Death and Dying).

Recognizing this proclivity of mankind to go to war, some have suggested that wars are normal and even necessary to bring about the relatively few years of peace that mankind has experienced. The end result of this philosophy is that humans are almost perpetually at war with each other. If we believe that we have to have war, we will have war.

The weakness of human reasoning

The prophet Jeremiah explains the problem with human reasoning apart from God: “O LORD, I know the way of man is not in himself, it is not in man who walks to direct his own steps” (Jeremiah 10:23).

Here, Jeremiah is simply saying that man does not know how to consistently govern himself and make good decisions. While pop psychology often advises us to look within ourselves for the answers to life’s problems, the truth is that we don’t always have those answers.

The book of Proverbs tells us: “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death” (Proverbs 14:12).

Spiritual problems and solutions

What many don’t realize is that mankind’s most challenging problems are spiritual in nature. Unfortunately, our natural way of thinking and acting is contrary to the way of God.

Addressing this human weakness, Paul wrote, “For to be carnally minded [our natural, human way of thinking] is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be” (Romans 8:6-7).

Earlier, through the prophet Isaiah, God told ancient Israel, “Your iniquities have separated you from your God. … For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, your tongue has muttered perversity. No one calls for justice, nor does any plead for truth. They trust in empty words and speak lies; they conceive evil and bring forth iniquity” (Isaiah 59:2-4).

Describing the progression that occurs when people reject God, the prophet continued: “In transgressing and lying against the LORD, and departing from our God, speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood. Justice is turned back, and righteousness stands afar off; for truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter. So truth fails, and he who departs from evil makes himself a prey. Then the LORD saw it, and it displeased Him that there was no justice” (verses 13-15).

Before the Kingdom comes: The “lie”

As we come to the end of this present age just before Christ’s return to earth, mankind’s unwillingness to obey God and the unsound thinking that automatically accompanies this choice will cause many to believe a false religious leader.

In 2 Thessalonians 2 we read that at the end time many will be deluded by one sitting in the temple of God, saying he is God. According to verse 11, God “will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie.”

The meaning of this verse is that God will allow humans to go their own way, to make their own choices, which includes rejecting God and His instructions, rather than God deliberately deceiving them. When humans choose their own way over God’s, they lose the ability to make sound decisions.

The modern practice of nations to remove God and the Bible from public view vividly illustrates this point. As God and His ways are forgotten, humans lose the spiritual guidance they so desperately need.

Rejection of God brings consequences

The account of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden explains how and why humans have lost the ability to make good judgments. In the beginning we read in Genesis 2:15-17 that God was and is in charge. God revealed Himself as Creator and Ruler. He had authority, and He gave commandments about how people should live. Unfortunately, Adam and Eve rejected God’s divine revelation and authority over their lives.

In Genesis 3:1-7 and 9-11 we see Adam and Eve deciding to believe Satan’s lie that humans were fully capable of successfully making all their decisions apart from God. This was “the lie” that deceived the first humans. Satan started the lie that we can decide for ourselves, apart from God, what is right and what is wrong.

So what is the answer to mankind’s misguided thinking that brings about war, violence, pain and suffering? The solution is found in “Thy kingdom come.” The Kingdom of God, under the direction of Jesus Christ, must come and save man from himself.Reflecting this thinking, many today believe that truth is relative—that biblical teaching is merely an opinion. Jesus, however, said that God’s “word is truth” (John 17:17). Rejecting the guidance of God, mankind’s misguided thinking has led to many sins and violence (see Romans 1 and Isaiah 59).

The early chapters of Genesis also illustrate this rejection of God and degeneration into violence. This is the fruit of that choice.

Why God’s Kingdom must come

So what is the answer to mankind’s misguided thinking that brings about war, violence, pain and suffering? The solution is found in “Thy kingdom come.” The Kingdom of God, under the direction of Jesus Christ, must come and save man from himself.

Jesus preached a kingdom and a new world in which “the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, [and] gives it to whomever He will” (Daniel 4:17). Under this Kingdom, the nature of man will be changed as he voluntarily follows the instructions of his Creator.

Man cannot rule himself because he has rejected the divine revelation and the authority of God. Instead of following God’s instructions, which would produce peace, he has, to his own detriment, decided for himself what is good and what is evil.

When He said to pray “thy kingdom come,” Jesus knew that man and his nature would bring him to the place that “unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved.”

Application for us: benefits of praying “Thy kingdom come!”

The most important decision each of us will make is to decide who will be Lord over our lives. If we submit to God’s authority and follow His instructions, we can find the way to peace and eternal life.

As we pray daily for God’s Kingdom to come, we remind ourselves of our responsibilities to our Creator and we maintain the vision of God’s magnificent future for all who will respond to Him. It is a marvelous future you don’t want to miss. Remember to pray and live for “Thy kingdom come!”

To learn more about God’s Kingdom, be sure to read the other articles in this section on the “Kingdom of God.” For example, for more about the hope and promise of the Kingdom of God and why it will be worth the wait, see “Till Kingdom Come?”

God vs. Satan: The Battle of the Ages

 

Across a span of time and on spiritual battlefields our human minds can only struggle to comprehend, an epic battle has been raging between God and a powerful, evil spirit—Satan the devil. This battle has impacted the course of history in powerful ways (and continues to do so)—but in order to fully understand the battle of God vs. Satan, we have to step back to the earliest pages of human history.

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Although we are only given small glimpses of the world prior to man, the Scriptures tell us that during this time Lucifer, one of the high-ranking angels serving before God’s throne, convinced a third of the angels to follow him in rebellion against God (Isaiah 14:12-15; Ezekiel 28:13-16; Revelation 12:7-9).

Apparently, because of this great battle, the beautiful earth God had created (Isaiah 45:18) became “without form, and void” (Genesis 1:2). Because of Lucifer’s rebellion, his name was changed to Satan, meaning “adversary.” His followers, fallen angels, became known as demons.

(To learn what the Bible reveals to us about these fallen angels, read our article “Are Demons Real?”)

After refashioning the earth so it could sustain human life, God created the first man, Adam. Eve, the first woman, was created a short time later. In addition to placing them in the Garden of Eden, where they could live and multiply, God gave them instruction in the way of life that would lead to happiness and eternal life.

But this couple was also given the choice of whether they would obey their Creator or choose their own path. God gave Adam and Eve the first opportunity to rule when He put all things under the feet of man, giving him dominion over the works of God’s hand (Psalm 8:4-8).

Satan the deceiver attacks mankind

Though largely banished to earth (Luke 10:18) with only a few exceptions when he could appear before God’s throne (Job 1:6), Satan and his demons were not ready to concede in their fight against God. Satan the devil soon brought the battle to the Garden of Eden.

Satan convinced the first man and his wife to disregard the instruction and commandments of God. They bought the lie that man can choose for himself what is right and what is wrong, what is good and what is evil. As a result of this tragic decision, sin entered the world and death entered by sin. Man cut himself off from the guidance, direction and blessings of God.

From mankind’s perspective, this began the battle of light vs. darkness, right vs. wrong, evil vs. good. Sides were drawn. Camps and philosophies were developed.

The result is that we now live in a world where we face a clash of values having to do with the questions of what is sin and who is in charge of this earth. Until mankind comes to terms with God’s ageless law, he will forever struggle in the battle of the ages with Satan’s philosophy that humans can decide for themselves what is good and what is evil.

Speaking of the confusion that this way of thinking has brought about, Isaiah 5:20 says, “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness.” Mankind has lost the ability to think and reason soundly. He has lost sight of the way to peace and happiness. The subsequent history of humankind is a record of people struggling to obtain these things their own way.

What began in the garden all those years ago was a deception that has survived through the ages—a deception that still affects us today.

Satan’s deception proves deadly

Shortly after creating them, God instructed Adam and Eve to look to Him for the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:15-17). Satan came along and portrayed God as a liar and an oppressor (Genesis 3:4-5). Eve was deceived (2 Corinthians 11:3), and Adam willingly ate of the wrong tree (1 Timothy 2:14). Satan convinced mankind that he should and could decide for himself good and evil.

This is the great deception. The deceiver and his agents brought darkness and oppression disguised as light and liberty. As a result of Adam’s choice, mankind was cut off from God—the only true source of light, life and liberty.

What a deception! The author of darkness and death posed as an angel of light and sold the most fatal lie anyone has ever bought. God said, “In the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” Satan, in effect, said, “God knows better—He’s been lying to you.” Through the ages, Satan and his agents have designed various systems to disguise the same old package of death.

God vs. Satan: the longest-running Bible prophecy

As a result of Adam’s sin, God dealt with each one of the players in the deception of Eden. In Genesis 3:15 we see the oldest and longest-running prophecy of the Bible. God told the serpent, Satan the devil, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed [Christ].”

The battle lines for thousands of years—until the return of Jesus Christ and the removal of the devil—had been drawn. There would be enmity or hostility between the woman, representing the true Church with God’s servants, and those of Satan’s world. Thus began the division between those who choose light and truth and those who choose darkness and lies.

Continuing His address to Satan, God went on to say, “He [Christ] shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His [Christ’s] heel,” referring to the fact that Satan would orchestrate the hatred of Jewish leaders to have Christ crucified. As Christ said to these leaders, “You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do” (John 8:44).

This battle—the battle of God vs. Satan—has been going on for over 6,000 years. We are told in 2 Corinthians 4:4 that Satan is the “god of this age.” In God’s sovereign purpose, Satan has been permitted to exercise a great measure of authority and power through the duration of this age.

While man remains a free moral agent and is answerable and responsible for his actions, evil is more than human. Evil has its source in a powerful being that has blinded the minds of those God is not yet working with. (To understand why God is not yet working with the majority of the world, read our article “Are Most People Eternally Lost?”)

One of the primary manifestations of satanic influence and of the evil of this age is religious deception. It is blindness in reference to the laws of God’s coming Kingdom. It is obvious from many passages in the Bible that the Kingdom of God in its permanence does not belong to this age—for Satan is indeed the god of this age.

There is still hope for the world

But God has not gone off to heaven and left this world under the complete control of this evil spirit being called Satan the devil. God has not been dethroned. It remains eternally true that “the LORD has established His throne in heaven, and His kingdom rules over all” (Psalm 103:19). God is still king of all the ages. It is simply a matter of understanding that the fullness of God’s Kingdom will not come about until this present evil age comes to an end.

Jesus Christ established a beachhead for the Kingdom of God through His Church, though this world remains largely the kingdom of Satan.We also need to understand that the Kingdom of God is not only future. Jesus Christ established a beachhead for the Kingdom of God through His Church, though this world remains largely the kingdom of Satan. The author of the book of Hebrews speaks of faithful people living during the time of the early New Testament Church who “have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come” (Hebrews 6:5).

The powers of the world to come have thus penetrated this age. The defeat of Satan by God and the establishment of His Kingdom are not solely in the future. God has already acted in His kingly power to break the power of Satan. This present evil world—the domain of Satan—has been breached by God.

Satan’s kingdom is doomed to fall

The Scriptures make it clear that Satan’s evil influence over mankind is destined to end. Speaking of Christ, Hebrews 2:14-15 says, “Through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.” The word destroy in this passage means to ruin, put out of action or render inoperative. (Read more about this in our article “Satan Destroyed? How?”)

The destruction of Satan’s stronghold has already been guaranteed through Christ’s death, burial and resurrection from the dead. It was a defeat for Satan in that his activity—his power in some real way—was and is curtailed towards God’s people. As Revelation 12:11 says regarding faithful Christians, “They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony.”

Christ’s ministry was also an invasion of Satan’s realm. Christ came “preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people” (Matthew 4:23). Christ preached the Kingdom of God and then demonstrated its power. He told the people of His day that casting out demons was clearly the work of God’s Kingdom (Matthew 12:24-29).

The power of the Kingdom of God is already on the earth

The gospel—the good news—of the Kingdom of God, which Jesus brought, includes the fact that the power and the authority of the Kingdom of God has come to earth and that it is at work in and among humanity.

John the Baptist and Jesus Christ began to proclaim the reality that the power of God’s Kingdom was and is already at work on this earth. It has come near, and the opportunity to be a part of that Kingdom is being offered through the Spirit of God to those whom God is calling (John 6:44). This calling from God includes instruction on how to live. It has immediate relevance and urgency.

The Jews of the first century were expecting God to send them a leader who would overthrow Roman rule. But the hope of such a leader did not happen. The Jewish state was not restored, the temple was destroyed, and the Jewish people were scattered.

But Jesus was not wrong in His prediction. The fullness of His Kingdom had simply not yet come.

Even though the Kingdom of God is not yet a reality on earth, Jesus instructed the members of His Church, which is the spiritual body of people representing that Kingdom, to preach this message to the world. The teachings of Jesus, including many Kingdom parables, explain that while the Kingdom has not yet replaced “the kingdoms of this world” (Revelation 11:15), the seeds of this future government have been planted and are growing.

What we must do to enter the Kingdom of God

In order to enter the Kingdom of God and be part of God’s eternal family, we have to repent of our sins, be baptized and start living by the laws of the Kingdom. We have to choose to be on God’s side in this great battle of God vs. Satan. When we make this decision and begin living as God says, God rescues us from the “power of darkness” and considers us to be part of “the kingdom of the Son of His love” (Colossians 1:13).

We are also instructed to pray for God’s Kingdom to come (Matthew 6:9-10). As we experience the limited aspects of God’s Kingdom now, we gain confidence that the future Kingdom will be a full reality. When this occurs, faithful saints will assist Christ in teaching those who have never known God’s truth.

After every human has had the opportunity to hear God’s truth and choose whether to respond to it, the great battle of God vs. Satan over mankind will finally come to a close. God is destined to win that battle, but there’s still a question only you can answer:

Whose side are you on?

Read more about the enemy Satan in the article “Satan: A Profile.”