If It Be Your Will

I have often heard people end their prayers of intercession and prayers of faith with the words “if it be Your will.” Here’s the problem with that. In prayers of intercession and faith, we are praying for God’s will to happen—things like salvation, healing, protection, and so forth.

The Bible already tells us those things are God’s will. So, if we attach this caveat on the end “if it be Your will,” we are actually nullifying our prayers, because that statement undermines our faith in God’s will as expressed in the scripture. In Christ, all the promises of God are yes and amen (see 1 Cor. 1:20).

People get the phrase, “if it be Your will,” from Jesus’ prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane, where He wrestled with the call to go to the cross (see Matt. 26:39). This was a prayer of surrender. He was acknowledging His own desires to avoid the cross, while also surrendering to God’s call.

This type of prayer specifically applies to times when we need to make a decision and don’t know what to do—or when we know what God is calling us to do, but we are struggling to submit to it. Then we can declare, “Not as I will, but as You will” (Matt. 26:39 NKJV).

But when we are praying for something that the word of God tells us is God’s will, we should not attach “if it be Your will” to the end. In the New Testament, the Greek word used for salvation is soteria, and it is a holistic word that means “healing, deliverance, safety, and soundness.” This is God’s will for all people (see 1 Tim. 2:4)—not just eternal salvation, but salvation in this life as well, including health and wholeness of spirit, soul, and body.

God’s will is healing. His will is for all people to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. God’s will is preservation and divine protection and provision for our needs. His will is everything that comes from the Spirit—the fruit and gifts of the Spirit manifested in our lives. God’s will is that we would hear His voice and know how to follow His leading. We can pray all of these things in confidence, knowing that they are exactly what God wills for our lives and the lives of those we intercede for.

The Bible tells us, “If we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him” (1 John 5:14–15 NKJV). This means we can and should pray in confidence, knowing that we are praying according to the will of God. We don’t need the caveat—“if it be Your will”—because we know it is His will, that He hears us, and that He has promised to give us what we ask.

Margie Fleurant is an author, speaker, and teacher on the importance of prayer in our daily walk in life. She is the Founder of Margie Fleurant Ministries. Traveling in the US and internationally as a keynote speaker, Margie uses this motivational knowledge to creatively inspire her audience of all ages in simple, understandable ways. With over 40 years of experience, Margie regularly speaks at churches, conferences, events, and seminars. Margie is the author of 10 books which includes Contend and Focus – both of which are available in bookstores and online. You can find Margie’s books, teachings, and other resources on her website at margiefleurant.org.