I spent the first ten years of my life growing up in a traditional church. Traditional churches have a reputation for following strictly to a liturgy, so strictly that some liturgy almost has a requirement to appear in every single Sunday worship service. One piece of liturgy recited every Sunday contains reciting the Lord’s prayer. Naturally, I learned to memorize the Lord’s prayer, and quite imaginably, anybody who grew in a traditional church (and maybe even some contemporary and charismatic churches) also memorized the Lord’s prayer in the same rote repetition. Sometimes the danger of the rote repetition could result in somebody reciting the Lord’s prayer without really considering the words spoken or their meaning. If carefully considering the meaning of the words, phrases and sentences, someone might hesitate halfway through, where the prayer says, “your will be done.” What exactly is the believer agreeing to when praying “your will be done”? What are the exact terms and conditions the Christian signs off on when praying “your will be done”? Both of those questions deserve further exploring.
Without further ado, I invite you to turn to Matthew 6:9-13, commonly known as the Lord’s Prayer. The Lord’s prayer does also appear in Luke 11:2-4, but interesting enough, it does omit a few lines, one of which includes “Your will be done.” Now no one should confuse this omission as Luke rejecting the line, as if he didn’t like it or downright hated it, for Luke does record the line (or something similar) elsewhere. For example, when Jesus prays in the Garden of Gethsemane in Luke 22, Jesus closes the prayer in Luke 22:42 with the line “Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” As another example, in Acts 21:14, when the Christians of Caesarea try to convince Paul not to go to Jerusalem, but Paul will not be persuaded by their attempts, they conclude, “Let the will of the Lord be done.” Clearly, Luke has no objection to the line, so why did he omit it? One of the prominent theories suggest that Luke saw the line “your will be done” as redundant repetition of the prior line “your kingdom come.” According to Luke, if God’s kingdom comes, then God’s will is done, and if the Lord’s will is done, then the Lord’s kingdom has come. Matthew, as a Jew writing to Jews, knew that the Old Testament poetry had something called synonymous parallelisms, in which two lines say the exact same thing/idea with similar yet different words in order to emphasis the idea. What Luke saw as redundancy and repetition Matthew saw as emphasis. Therefore, a proper understanding of “your will be done” first requires the proper interpretation of “your kingdom come.”
Throughout the Old Testament, everybody from prophets to priests to poets, yearned for the Messiah to establish his messianic kingdom (1 Chronicles 16:33; Psalms 96:13, 98:9; Isaiah 13:6, 24:23, 26:21, 32:22, 52:7; Joel 2:1; Micah 1:3; Zephaniah 3:15; Zechariah 14:1&9; Malachi 4:5). By praying “your kingdom come,” and likewise, “your will be done,” in the Lord’s prayer, the person praying shares in the same zeal for the Christ to set up his kingdom. This idea of the Messiah establishing his messianic kingdom finds its basis in the Lord’s covenant promises to his covenant people. Praying God’s kingdom come, and similarly, the Lord’s will be done, means to pray that the Lord will fulfill all his covenant promises. Covenant promises he made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; covenant promises he made to Moses and the Israelites at Mount Sinai; and covenant promises he made to David.
Praying “your kingdom come” sounds like an odd request in the greater context of Matthew. Earlier in Matthew 3:2 and 4:17, Jesus announces that the kingdom of God is at hand. Later in Matthew 12:28, Jesus declares that him casting out demons proves that the kingdom of God has come. The problem, however, is that not everybody acknowledges and recognizes it. Jesus will later on illustrate this with a series of parables in Matthew 13, most notably the parable of the mustard seed and yeast, which emphasis the explosive expansion of the kingdom of God in the future. Scholars call this tension the “already-not yet” duality. Therefore, the kingdom in mind in Matthew 6:10 would be the eschatological kingdom, or the kingdom of God established in the new heaven and new earth. As foretold by the prophets, this is when the Lord’s plan for future history comes to full completion. Thus, the prayer asks that this fully realized kingdom comes sooner than later. The goal of the prayer is the future of kingdom of God may be just as real as the present kingdom of God. Just like praying “Hallowed by your name,” the person praying does not ask for the petition to become true, for the statement is already true. Instead, the praying person requests for that future kingdom, which everyone does acknowledges and recognizes. If any direct application arises from this line, the line prays that the disciples of Jesus will faithfully and obedient spread the kingdom of God by living out what Jesus taught, including everything from what they say to what they do.
Therefore, it makes sense to think of praying “your will be done” under the same exact “already-not yet” dichotomy. True disciples of Jesus, who call Jesus their Lord and Savior, already participate in the will of the Lord, but praying “your will be done” asks that everybody will contribute to the will of God across the world. Still, the question remains on what it means to pray “your will be done.”
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So what does it mean to pray “Your will be done?”
Praying “your will be done” means the person praying asking God’s plan of salvation to come to full fruition. In 1 Timothy 2:4, Paul writes to Timothy that God” desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” Whether your Calvinist and believe this verse only applies to the elect, or if your Arminian and believe that all people means every single person, the truth remains that when people come to the saving knowledge and truth of Jesus Christ, the kingdom of God expands in membership. It only makes sense that the more souls saved, the more souls will contribute to the will of God.
Praying “Your will be done” includes praying the Lord will overthrow the sin that the earth has become enslaved to and returning the world into the very good and sinless creation God originally made. God’s will being done means that he is truly the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, with no other emperor, king, prince or governor competing with him for reign over the earth.
Praying “Your will be done” means for the removal of the sinful. It’s not something we like to think of, but Jesus has promised paradise to his disciples, and it won’t be paradise if evil and wickedness allows for pain and suffering to continue to haunt his followers.
Praying “Your will be done” means, as a disciple of Jesus, learning to submit in humility to the will of God. Throughout the book of Matthew, Jesus correlates the doing the will of the Lord as a marker of a true disciple. According to Matthew 7:21, those who do God’s will are the only ones who call rightfully call God their Lord, or master. In Matthew 12:50, Jesus calls those who do the Father’s Will his brothers, his sisters and mothers. The point of the parable in Matthew 21 is that the true disciple does the Lord’s will. As always, Jesus makes himself the perfect model of a human follower of Jesus by praying he can submit to the will of God, as seen in Matthew 26:42. Therefore, praying “your will be done” becomes an activity of humility and submission. Prayer now becomes a spiritual discipline of aligning the person’s will with the Lord’s will. The believer does not need to pray anything about or for himself or herself, the Christian knows that God has already taken care of sustaining and blessing him or her.
On that note, the cool thing is that the disciples of Jesus testify to already here part of the kingdom of God. While Christians cannot single-handedly usher in the kingdom of God by their own merit, in both preaching the gospel message and living out the kingdom, they proclaim that the kingdom of God is indeed at hand and within grasp. When disciples both preach the gospel and live out the kingdom, it makes the kingdom of God very real here and now. Therefore, when Christians pray “your will be done,” they ask the Father for the strength to be obedient to the calling that they have received. Again, this does not mean that the church will bring out new heaven and new earth themselves, but by living it out here and now, the church testifies to the certainty that Jesus will return and establish his kingdom.
Before diving deep into the last line in Matthew 6:10, a few questions need answering First, does “heaven” refer to God’s throne room, the paradise prepared for his disciples, outer space or the sky, or any place that recognizes Jesus as Savior and Lord? The second question to tackle is whether that last line is “on earth as it is in heaven” or “both in heaven and on earth,” for the Greek could technically translate into both. Third and last, how much of the previous parts of the prayer apply to the last line of Matthew 6:10: just “your will be done,” or “your kingdom come” with it or even the whole prayer up to this point! Theologically speaking, while rebellion can happen in heaven (see Ephesians 6:11&12 and Colossians 1:20), Matthew never depicts heaven containing the slightest bit of opposition to God. Heaven is the Lord’s throne, and from his throne, God rules heaven by his will. The future end goal is, however, that all of creation, both heaven and earth will unite fulfilling the will of God. Everybody and everything will do the will of God. In way, this closing line in Matthew 6:9 paints of picture of this inability to tell the difference between heaven and earth because everyone and everything talks and acts the same way. To conclude, the one praying should pray, “As in heaven, so on earth.”
The last line in Matthew 6:10 further emphasizes this “already-not yet” tension. The angels in heaven already worship Jesus as king, and they already do his will. The goal is to get humanity on earth to act the same way as the angels. The angels in heaven and the humans on earth should share the same priorities and values. Just as the angels in heaven fully, willingly, consistently and joyfully serve and worship Jesus, so should humans on earth fully, willingly, consistently and joyfully worship Jesus. In heaven, all the angels’ lifestyles, practices and traditions, both of a personal and corporate level, conform to the Lord’s standards, but here on earth, they do not. By praying “your will be done,” the person praying wishes that humanity’s lifestyles, practices and traditions, both of a personal and corporate level, will mold to the God’s principles.
When a Christian prays these lines of the Lord’s prayer in Matthew 6:10, the Christian himself or herself commits to contributing to bringing about the kingdom of God and doing the Lord’s will. After all, throughout history, as seen in both the Old Testament and the New Testament, God has chosen his people to achieve his goals.
Therefore, looking back on all three lines in Matthew 6:10, they all pray for the same thing: that the Lord’s plan of salvation will become the end goal of history. After all, it only makes sense, for the Lord’s kingdom coming to earth and the Lord’s will being done on earth all reflect the character of God, especially his holiness, as stated in Matthew 6:9 “hallowed by your name.” Thus, in a way, whatever the meaning of “your kingdom come” or “you will be done,” the prayer expresses awe at the spectacular plan that God has for the future, A true disciples yearns for earth to become like in regard to God’s kingdom and God’s will, and it has such an excitement that the person praying just wants God to bring it now. David L. Turner puts it best, “Such requests come from one whose hunger for righteousness on earth will not be satisfied with a snack, as it were, but only with the eschatological banquet associated with the age to come (5:6; cf. 8:11).”
God the Father is already King of king and Lord of lords on both earth and heaven (Matthew 11:25), and Jesus, as God the Son, shares in that same role and title (Matthew 28:18). Jesus came to establish his kingdom and his will. Thus, the disciples practice and perform the kingdom of God in both speech and action to correctly respond in demonstrating their anticipating to the fully realized kingdom on the New Heaven and New Earth, which Jesus started while ministering on earth (Matthew 13:37–43; 24:14; 28:20)
Thus, the line “on earth as it is in heaven,” closes out the first half of the Lord’s prayer centering entirely around the Lord and the Lord’s plan. Half of the prayer dedicates itself to sharing its appreciation, awe and wonder at God and God’s plan before asking of any petition.
Therefore, it only makes sense that the rest of the prayer consists of supplications, asking God to provide what the disciples need to bring about the kingdom of God and to live out the will of God. Even so, though, these supplications do not come from a selfish heart. These prayer requestions not only withhold from asking for wealthy possessions or lifestyles of the rich and the famous, they also withhold from requesting a need met, a problem solved or vengeance for a wrongdoing. The humble Christian, who really believes and conforms to the lifestyle expressed in this prayer, realizes he or she has no right to demand any of these things, especially if contradictory to God’s kingdom coming on the Lord’s will being done. Instead, the prayer requests center around the concern for the expanse of the Lord’s kingdom and the Lord’s will. Again, the believer does not have to worry about needs or wants because they know God will take care of it, for it’s part of his kingdom and his will. Thus, the disciples do not look forward to a time when they will leave the earthly plane and escape to heaven, but instead, they look for ways to bring God’s kingdom to earth by doing his will.
One last concluding thought. I like to joke with my Christian friends of other denominations (and I caution others when "joking" about this to other people, for somebody without a sense of humor will find this highly offensive) that "Every Christian is entitled to their church denomination of choice. God has given us that liberty, and God loves us all equally and the same, no matter what church denomination we choose. But when you get to heaven, you'll find we're all Mennonite." (See how that "joke" can easily offend?) With every joke, at least half of it finds its basis in seriousness. With so many other Christian denominations, they read the Sermon on the Mount, which the Lord's Prayer is part of, and they will say of it, "That's a nice ideal to look forward to at the New Heaven and New Earth when Jesus establishes his kingdom on earth, but right here right now on earth, that's not possible in this corrupt, fallen world. In this corrupt, fallen world, we must be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves" (see Matthew 10:16). The Mennonites, however, have rejected that answer. They have chosen something different. They have chosen what other Christian denominations call impossible. The Mennonites have put so much emphasis on kingdom living that they say, "You know what? We believe we don't have waiting for Jesus to establish the New Heaven and New Earth. We believe the Holy Spirit has empowered us to live out the kingdom of God right here and right now." Since the Mennonites do live out the kingdom of God, to the best of their ability, right here and right now, they get experience a little bit of heaven, so when they actually do go to heaven, they know how to live it out, whereas the other denominations might need a little bit more time getting use to things. All in all, what I'm trying to say is that the Mennonites' emphasis on living out God's kingdom come right here and now sets up the Mennonites to live out God's will being done. Let the Mennonites be the witness to the rest of the Christian denominations on what it means to live out the Lord's will be done.
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