Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
This verse is part of what Christians call "The Lord's Prayer," a model prayer Jesus taught his disciples when they asked how to pray. Jesus was a Jewish teacher who lived in first-century Palestine under Roman occupation. The phrase "your kingdom come" is a declaration of trust — an invitation for God's reign, his ways, his justice, and his love to become the lived reality of our world. "Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven" suggests that in heaven, God's will is carried out perfectly and completely, and this prayer asks that earth would begin to mirror that reality. It is less a passive wish than an active surrender — the person praying is aligning themselves with God's purposes rather than their own.
Father, I say these words so easily — "your will be done" — and yet I know how tightly I grip my own plans. Teach me what it means to really mean it. Let your kingdom come into the corners of my life I keep off-limits. Today, I choose your will over mine. Amen.
There's something quietly radical about a prayer that starts not with "give me" but with "your kingdom come." When Jesus taught his followers this phrase, they were living under Roman rule — an empire famous for crushing dissent and demanding loyalty. To pray "your kingdom come" in that world was almost subversive. It was declaring that Rome wasn't the final word. Neither is whatever empire you're living under right now — whether that's a brutal boss, a broken relationship, a diagnosis, or the nagging voice in your head that says this is just how things are. The second half of this verse — "your will be done on earth as it is in heaven" — is one of the hardest things a human being can genuinely mean. In heaven, God's will is done without argument, without delay, without resentment. Here, we drag our feet. We pray this line and then spend the next hour trying to manage outcomes God didn't sign off on. What would it look like for you to pray this verse slowly today — not as a formula, but as a real offering? Not "your will be done (unless it costs me something)" — but actually, truly, your will.
What does "God's kingdom" mean to you? How would you describe it to someone who has never been to church or read the Bible?
When in your life have you genuinely surrendered to God's will, even when it was painful or confusing? What did that experience feel like?
This prayer asks for God's will "on earth as it is in heaven" — meaning now, in the physical world. How does that challenge the idea that faith is only about the afterlife or personal spiritual comfort?
How might sincerely praying "your will be done" change the way you treat people you disagree with, or situations you feel desperate to control?
What is one area of your life right now where you're resisting surrendering to God's will? What small, concrete step could you take toward opening that up to him this week?
In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
1 Thessalonians 5:18
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
For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.
Hebrews 10:36
For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;
Colossians 1:9
And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
Romans 12:2
Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.
John 4:34
And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.
John 6:40
For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.
Matthew 12:50
' Your kingdom come, Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven.
AMP
Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
ESV
'Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven.
NASB
your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
NIV
Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven.
NKJV
May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.
NLT
Set the world right; Do what's best— as above, so below.
MSG