Hamstrung Prayers: How We Misuse ‘Your Will Be Done’

“Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:10)

There are two prominent dangers into which our prayers can fall: the danger of no faith, and the danger of false faith. The danger of false faith is more complicated; it is when we pray with trust, not in God but in ourselves – our own ability to pray, our own power to accomplish, or our own winsomeness with God. This is what the Savior warned of when he said not to ‘heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do,’ because it is in fact a form of false faith: ‘they think that they will be heard for their many words.’ God is, instead, easy to be entreated, and it is faith in this aspect of his character which should build our confidence in prayer.

But the other danger is just as prominent; the danger of a lack of faith. This danger is frequently mentioned in Scripture. “Let him ask in faith with no doubting,” James advises – and then warns that for the doubter, “that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord.” Similarly the disciples were told flatly that their failure to heal a demoniac was because of their ‘little faith’ – though Jesus goes on to clarify that even a the smallest amount of faith can achieve great results.

At the same time that we are warned of faithlessness, Scripture consistently encourages faith, and promises great things for those who believe. “All things are possible for one who believes” (Mark 9:23). “Whatever you ask in prayer you will receive, if you have faith” (Matthew 21:22). Such clear promises are given in Scripture alongside multitudes of examples of individuals who received great blessings as they believed in God.

This is not to say that prayer is a magic wand, or that anything that everything we always ask is provided. The Word of God provides various reasons why certain requests are delayed, withheld, or even denied. But again, sometimes the reason why we do not receive what we want is simple – “You do not have, because you do not ask” (James 4:2).

Consider, then, the simple phrase “your will be done.” It is an expression of humility, submission to the will of God. It is the same sentiment that Jesus uttered in Gethsemane – “not my will, but yours, be done” (Luke 22:42). There is nothing wrong with the phrase, and many reasons why we should use it in our prayers.

Too often, however, the phrase is misused as an excuse for a lack of faith. I know I’m guilty of this, and I feel that it happens more often than we wish to admit. Consider this common scenario: at a prayer meeting, someone requests prayer for something – a family member to be healed of illness, a friend to believe the gospel, etc. Someone agrees to pray for that person. They pray, asking God to intervene. And then they casually, even nonchalantly, end the prayer with, ‘but whatever you will, Lord’ or something along those lines.

Perhaps it is done with the best of intentions. I dare not judge the meaning or heart posture of others. But I have a suspicion (because I know myself too well) that often it functions as a means of ‘letting God off the hook.’ God wants us to wrestle with him in prayer, to truly seek his blessings, and to have faith in his power. But perhaps we use this phrase to mean something like this: “this is what we would like – but we aren’t going to truly wrestle in prayer for this. It’s important, but not so important that we will truly seek for it intensely. If you want to give this, that’s great – and if not, that’s fine too.”

If this phrase stems from a heart of humility, a humble acknowledgement of God’s right to dispose – that is one thing. Too often, this phrase seems to be uttered from a heart of nonchalance: a general ‘casualness’ in the way that we seek God, a kind of happy-go-lucky, things-will-be-as-things-will-be mindset, in which prayer is more of a process that we perform because we are Christians, rather than a genuine expectation that God hears prayer. And when we use this phrase as a means to let God and ourselves off the hook, because of a lack of faith – we are left with hamstrung prayers.

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