When we face unfortunate circumstances, we often ask for God's help in dealing with them. Sometimes, we even ask Him to solve our problems for us because we know that we can't handle them ourselves. But having a problem-free life isn't really in our best interest. We need to experience trouble and adversity in order to learn and grow. If we always got the relief we prayed for, we wouldn't be able to achieve one of the major purposes of life. So when we pray for miracles, we should try to remember to add "If it be Thy will," because God's will for us is to achieve our full potential, and sometimes, we need some adversity to help us do that.
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Something I was too tired to think of adding last night: While we're praying for God to change our circumstances, if it be His will, it may also make sense to ask Him to change our hearts as well. If a change of heart is the purpose of adversity, God's not going to miraculously cure the adversity until our heart has been changed, even if we ask Him to. Thus, the fastest way to end the adversity would be to have the change of heart that the adversity is intended to bring about, and we can change our hearts faster when we have God's help in doing so. If we pray for it, God can helps us gain the strength and wisdom our afflictions are trying to teach us, and the faster we learn those lessons, the sooner our afflictions can end. So rather than praying for God to change our situation (which we can still do, also), it ma be more effective to ask God to change us.
That makes sense, yet so often we forget.
I recently read an article where the writer shared a way to help align her will with God's will. After asking for a blessing, she learned to add "but if not" and ask for something she knows Heavenly Father also wants, such as: "but if not, please help me be patient". This recognizes that Heavenly Father is a loving parent who wants to give His children things they ask for and gives Him the opportunity to do so. It also helps the person praying feel Heavenly Father's love, and receive blessings, even if the first thing they asked for isn't granted. It shows humility and love in being willing to submit to God's will and the desire to be unified with Him.
You can read the article here: https://www.lds.org/blog/how-to-pray-in-a-way-god-can-answer?lang=eng
Plus, it has a venn diagram. ;)
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