Thy
thy
–pronoun
the possessive case of thou (used as an attributive adjective before a noun beginning with a consonant sound): thy table.
Three times during this prayer, Jesus uses the word thy. It is of course interchangeable with the word “your” in our current vernacular. He says, “Hallowed be thy name.” And “Thy kingdom come.” And “Thy will be done.”
There is nothing special about the word except in using it we give over our own wills to God. Did I say nothing special? That is an incredibly difficult thing to do for me and for many others. Give over our own power to another. How many of us can do this with ease? Could you give yourself over to your boss? How about your spouse? Let it all go into the hands of a friend? It’s really not so easy.
There’s a common saying in my house, “Don’t tell me what to do!” Have you heard that at your house? Maybe not in those exact words, but I am willing to wager that you have heard it. How many times then, do you think God has heard this same statement? He heard it from Jonah, and Jonah ended up in the belly of a whale. He heard it from Elijah and Elijah ended up tasting a burning coal. He heard it from all of the Israelite people in the desert, and they ended up with poisonous seraphs surrounding them.
No wonder Jesus urges us to say, “Thy will be done.” And what exactly does that mean? God’s will, if we are willing to accept it, is right there in our daily lives. It is exactly the place where we are, doing exactly as He guides us to do. Remember the Ten Commandments? They are still a guide that we should be following. Jesus enhanced these commandments with, “Love God with all your strength, your heart, your soul.” And, “Love one another as I have loved you.”
As long as you put these two things together, that is, your life and His commandments and His guidance, you are giving over the power to Him. It is when we take the power back into our own hands that we get ourselves into trouble. Now, trouble like Jonah’s doesn’t come along too often, but I think you know what I mean.
“Thy” only seemed like a tiny little insignificant word in these three places. On the other hand it is huge. Hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done.