[Pray] that I may be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea, and that my service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints...
Romans 15:31 ESV
Not every prayer is answered in the way we want. God used the hatred of one group of Jews for another to bring the Gospel to Rome and the Western Empire.
God gives us much leeway in how we live our lives and the choices we make from one day to the next within the bounds set by his Law, but God also has a plan which will be carried out despite all prayers to the contrary. If his plan requires that Paul be arrested in Jerusalem or that a loved one not survive a car accident, then that is what will happen. This doesn’t mean that our prayers go unanswered, but that they are often answered in ways that we wouldn’t prefer or that we didn’t expect.
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Romans 15:32 ESV
There is no shame or lack of faith in praying “If it be your will, let such and such be done” so long as we aren’t using it as an excuse to expect God to say no. This was how Paul responded to the Ephesians who wanted him to stay longer: “I will return to you if God wills.”
See also James 4:15, which advises prayer in this manner to help avoid praying for one’s own will for one’s own benefit or as if God was a mere sprite to be commanded by magic incantations.
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