To be thy will or not to be thy will, that is the question…

It might seem like a silly question, but it has come up a number of times — how do I know whether or not to add “if it be thy will” to the end of my prayers?

I actually wondered this myself at various times. I think the key is learning to discern what God does and does not promise to everyone in His word. One good example of this is Jeremiah 29:11. It is a very famous verse that people often use to tell themselves, and others, that God has a wonderful plan for their lives to prosper them and give them hope.

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

But is God really saying that He has plans of prosperity for everyone? It surprised me to learn that is NOT what God is saying. It was upsetting to learn that I had been using that verse wrong my entire life. The promise of Jeremiah 29:11 is actually to a specific group of people at a specific time in the past (the captives returning from Babylon). It is not a general promise for every believer throughout all time.

That is the key to understanding when to pray “according to thy will” and when one does not need to add that qualifier to the end of their prayer —knowing what God DOES promise to every believer.

Consider this example. Suppose I’m a farmer and prayed this prayer…

“Lord, please let us have a bumper crop this year,”

In this prayer, I would add, “if it be thy will” to the end of it because God has not promised bumper crops to me or anyone.

Someone might then say, not true! He promised there would be bumper crops for seven years to Joseph! To which I would reply, yeah, God promised that to Joseph at that time and place. He has not promised that to everyone. 

Therefore, that is the type of prayer that needs to end with, “if it be thy will.” The person who prays that prayer can then trust God will answer in the way that is best. He might say yes. He might say no. He might say wait.

On the flip side, if I prayed, “Lord, help us deal with a bad farming year,” I wouldn’t add “if it be thy will” to the end of it.

Why? Because God has promised to be an ever-present help in numerous places in His word, like in Psalm 46. God being a help is a general promise that applies to all believers.

Now then, how would that help come? I don’t know. Maybe crop insurance, maybe God would curtail expenses in other areas of life, maybe God would grant additional faith to trust Him through the financial difficulty or even use the financial difficulty to create a stronger faith. At the end of the day, faith is probably the most valuable gift to receive. Regardless, we know that some sort of help from God is certain even if it is not apparent to us or in a way that we expect. Helping His believers is God’s will, and He is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us (Ephesians 3:20).