What is the meaning of ‘Thy will be done?’
Having rightly called upon God as our Father and prayed that his holy Name be hallowed and his Kingdom come, the third petition concerns God’s holy will, in accord with the prominence of these three themes throughout the Scriptures.
To ask, “Thy will be done” is an act of humility, by which we acknowledge that God has supreme knowledge, whereas we as creatures “know only in part,” seeing “as in a mirror, dimly” (1Co 13:9, 12). Our human will, even our flesh, must always submit to God’s word as the expression of his perfect will: this is pure and heavenly wisdom (Jas 3:17), and the great example left to us by our Lord and by his most pure Mother: “Father, if you are willing, take this cup away from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done” (Luk 22:42; see Q573); “Behold, the handmaid of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word” (Luk 1:38; see Q118, Q187).
As disciples of the Lord, we are called to seek the will of the heavenly Father: “My food is to do the will of the one who sent me, and to accomplish his work” (Joh 4:34).
By praying “Thy will be done,” we must also, as the Apostle teaches, “be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what is the good, well-pleasing, and perfect will of God” (Rom 12:2; see Q390).
