Hope for Healing, Faith for Living Podcast

Sometimes I hear people ending their prayers with, “If it be your will Lord” or something similar.

Is there a time to pray this way. Yes. But we need to know when to pray like that and when not to. 

Please don’t misunderstand me. We always want to seek, know and pray inline with God’s will but when God’s will is already revealed, we don’t include “If it be your will Lord” in our prayer because that will show we don’t trust what he already said in his Word.

Let me give you an example.

What if someone wants to be saved and receive Jesus as Lord. Should that person pray, “Lord, please save me if it be your will.”? 

No. And here’s why. We already know it’s God’s will for all to come to him and be saved.

1 Peter 3:9 ESV

9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you,[a] not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

And Romans 10:13 ESV

For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

We don’t need to ask God to save us and say “If it be your will.”  His will has already been revealed and we need to believe it.

Anytime God’s will has already been revealed, we can pray knowing we are inline with his will, knowing he hears us and knowing we have what we have prayed for.  

Let’s again look at 1 John 5:14-15 ESV

14 And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.

Now what are some examples of praying in Scripture when it’s asked if it is God’s will.

There’s a prayer recorded by Jesus.

Luke 22:41-42

41 And he withdrew from them about a stone's throw, and knelt down and prayed, 42 saying, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.”

Jesus is about to go through great suffering. He is basically asking if there’s 

Let’s read the account as it’s recorded in Matthew.

Matthew 26:39-42 ESV

39 And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” 40 And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And he said to Peter, “So, could you not watch with me one hour? 41 Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” 42 Again, for the second time, he went away and prayed, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.”

Jesus is praying about what’s he’s about to do, what he is about to go through. He’s asking if there’s another way but ends with saying, “Your will be done.”

Now we’ve been talking about 100% answered prayer. Jesus asked if there’s another way but said, “Your will be done.”  Was Jesus willing to do the Father’s will. Was his prayer was a prayer of submission or you can say dedication.  It was a hard thing Jesus was called to do but Jesus was willing if that was the Father’s will. 

Remember Jesus could have not done it but he wanted to know this was the perfect will of the Father and he was willing if it was. 

Jesus got his prayer answered.

Let’s look at another example of this type of prayer.

James 4:13-15

13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— 14 yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. 15 Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.”

Can you see how this is the same type of prayer that Jesus prayed in the garden? It’s a prayer of submission, of dedication. It’s about what someone is going to do. It’s about being willing to submit to the will of the Father and therefore included is, “If the Lord wills”.

Again, and I hope I’m clear. This is not the type of prayer you pray when you are standing on a promise of God or what God has already revealed in his Word as his will. In those cases you don’t say, “If it be your will.” of “If the Lord wills” because God has already revealed his will.

When his will has already been revealed, you take him at his Word and believe him for it.

Blessings,

Tim Dumas

www.hopeforhealingfaithforliving.com