When People Pray Or Say "Thy Will Be Done"
 

When people pray or say, "Thy will be done" are they personally abdicating their will to God? Is this advisable since we are given free will? I understand when the Lord's Prayer is said "thy will be done" is referring to the broad picture, but I've heard lots of people say this regarding their personal circumstances. It makes me think they are saying, I concede I don't know what I'm doing, and don't want to take the time to learn, so you take over. It seems lazy to me. It sounds similar to the saying, Jesus take the wheel. Am I looking at this all wrong? Please enlighten me.

I think it's just acceptance that what will be will be and whatever happens will, in the grand scheme of things, be what needs to happen, be it for karmic or soul development purposes.

I believe it can help people to cope with challenging circumstances and that can only be a good thing.

Some people will say thy will be done because they have heard it before it doesnt really mean anything to them.
i suppose it all depends on how religious you are and how you percieve it to mean. i dont say say it but im not a pray obey and pay person either ,im a spiritulist i follow my own path.

Namaste

I think it just means that you kind of declare your wish and confirm it.

Thy Will Be Done.
 

Here we are aligning our will with God's will, we are submitting ourselves to Him, and asking that His way triumphs, what will be will be :smile:

Just as a follow-up can anyone give an example of something that will be not becoming what it will be?

I think the prayer 'Thy will be done' isn't about abdicating responsibility, but a reminder to ourselves that there is a higher will for our lives, that if we truly want to live, we need to conform ourselves with it.

It's so easy to go about doing our own thing, becoming full of our own opinions, plans, and desires, but even simply praying 'thy will be done' opens us up to giving God, Source, Spirit (whatever name you want to use) a chance to get through to us and nudge us along the right path - to flow with the spirit so to speak.

I think we do have free will, but I also believe that we only truly live in that free will, when we're merging it with God's will. For it's when we're being completely controlled by God that we are in complete freedom.

Given the theistic concept of God, often it is claimed that God is love and wills the very best for us. If that is believed to be the case it would be strange not to pray in such a way.

I think sometimes God's will is that we choose what to do. There may be various paths we can choose, and all are within his will. And though he may have a 'best' path for us, he doesn't condemn us if we don't choose 'his best'. Having said that, I also believe there are very much times in our lives when God does have a very clear will for what we do, which is likely to go against our natural desires, and it's then we really need to pray and act upon ''Thy will be done''.

I think Jesus in Gethsemane is a perfect example of this. He asked for another way, but there was only one and that was torture and the cross.

Are we not being led up a blind alley here...?

'God's Will be done' apparently means what will be will be. So logically what won't be won't and isn't God's Will. In a way that makes sense (the won't part I mean).

So free will, as we understand it seems to mean we can use our free will but only if it leads to us doing God's Will. Which will be that which will be. So free will doesn't really exist.

What we can say if we have understood this correctly is that where no free will can be exercised (let's say for the sake of simplicity by sentient beings) then all that becomes is God's will. So when 100.000 people die in an earthquake (where no free will plays a part) this is God's Will.

Let's say I get cancer. This is God's Will because my free will didn't choose it and I think I didn't deserve it because I don't smoke etc,. So as it's God's Will should I try to prevent his Will working by seeking to cure my cancer' And if i do cure it have I acted against God's Will?

And so on and so forth - what a waste of time.