In The Complete Jewish Bible that I have been using lately, the phrase “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven” is written as the second part of a sentence. As a prayer on its own it can be read as “May your will be done on earth as in heaven.”

I ask myself, what do I know about heaven or any things being done in accordance with God’s will there?

• We read of sounds from heaven. 1 Samuel 2:10 tells us that God in heaven will thunder against the wicked.
  
• We read of fire from heaven in judgment (2 Kings 1), but also in acceptance of sacrifice (Lev 9:24).
  
• We read of provision from heaven. Exodus 16:4 tells us that God fed Israel with bread from heaven.
  
• We read in Malachi 3:10 of floodgates being opened from heaven to pour out blessings.
  
• We read in 2 Kings 6:17 of a heavenly army when Elisha asks God to open the servant’s eyes and he sees “the mountain was covered with horses and fiery chariots.”
  
• We read in 2 Samuel 5:24 of David hearing marching in the tops of the balsam trees - God going ahead to war.
  
• In Revelation 12 we read that heaven is a place that has seen war, the adversary satan and his army being beaten and thrown out of heaven.
  
• In Revelation 21:1 we read that heaven, as well as earth, will need renewing.

These scriptures are somewhat different to my conception of heaven being a place of total paradise! They seem to paint a picture of heaven, where God dwells, as a place of free will, from which blessings and judgments can flow, but also as a place of armies and battles, all closely connected with earth.

The Book of Job

In chapter 1 of Job, the adversary (satan) visits God in heaven and is given permission to bring harm on Job, a man righteous in God’s eyes. A debate follows where Job and his friends try to understand God and His Creation. In chapter 38, God answers Job in such a way that Job realises this is all beyond his earthly intellectual understanding and in 42:3 Job comes to the conclusion that “I spoke without having understanding, of wonders far beyond me, which I didn’t know.”

I think that, whilst the debate was a necessary part of Job’s journey, it was meeting God that brought him to the realisation that God, heaven and all of Creation are totally beyond the understanding of us mortals. It needed God to open Job’s eyes - not answering questions but changing Job’s total perspective on God and his Creation.

So, perhaps “May your will be done on earth as in heaven” was not a prayer to bring a wonderful paradise where all is peace and managed in accordance with God’s perfect will, to earth, even though this is our sure hope for a future heaven and earth.

Instead, I am wondering if it means that an act of God’s will had been done in heaven and that Jesus was telling his disciples to pray for the continuation of this act of God’s will to be completed on earth.

What Act of God’s Will?

So, what will of God might we be talking about? I put to you a small number of clues that I think I have uncovered:

1. The Garden of Eden clue: Genesis 2:4 tells that God made earth and heaven. Reading the account of Creation in Genesis, there appears a close relation between heaven and earth. Mankind was made on earth in the image of the God of heaven. The Garden of Eden was the place of growing relationship between Adam and Eve and God, a heavenly connection in a state without sin. But following their disobedience, in Genesis 3:8 Adam and Eve heard the voice of God, walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze and in verse 9 God called to the man: “Where are you?”
2. The Mosaic clue: In Exodus 33:12-23, Moses has a conversation with God where God reveals more of Himself and reassures Moses that He will go with the people of Israel.
3. The Tabernacle clue: Exodus 40:34-38 tells how God lived with Israel throughout their years in the wilderness. The tabernacle with cloud and fire made visible the reality of God’s presence.
4. The Jeremiah clue: In Jeremiah 31:1-14 God expresses his joy over an amazing future reunion with Israel and including the nations.

These and other references show me that God wants relationship with you and me. God’s method of achieving this desire of His heart was to send His only and unique son (Jesus / Yeshua / Salvation), to live a perfect, sacrificial life on earth (Isaiah 53). God’s heavenly will.

When Jesus taught His disciples how to pray, He was well into His ministry years, and the time was drawing close for Him to complete that sacrifice. So perhaps this short phrase could be expanded to say “May Heavenly Father’s will, started in heaven, be completed on earth by Jesus.” Was Jesus telling his disciples to pray that he would be able to complete God’s plan for salvation with his upcoming sacrifice? Partly, I think.

Ongoing Prayer

Look at John 17. Jesus’ prayer just before His sacrifice reveals more than anything else our Heavenly Father’s will, especially in verse 11: “…so that they may be one, just as we are.” And verses 20-21: “I pray not only for these, but also for those who will trust in me because of their word, that they may all be one. Just as you, Father, are united with me and I with you, I pray that they may be united with us…”.

This might be the ongoing part of this prayer that you and I can pray, until we are together, united with our Father. It encompasses both the prayer for unity of us believers, both Jew and Gentile, and Jesus’ Great Commission of Matthew 28:18-20 to reach out to the ends of the earth to bring all who God calls into His Kingdom.

“May your will be done on earth as in heaven.”

Author: John Quinlan