Produced by George Harrison in London, the recording also features contributions from Eric Clapton, Keith Richards, Ginger Baker and Doris Troy.

[9] With regard to the lyrics' humanitarian message, author Simon Leng refers to the song's "unaffected naiveté", while recognising its compatibility with the direction that Beatles guitarist George Harrison was pursuing throughout the band's final years.

[14] An early version of "That's the Way God Planned It" was taped with Preston on piano and vocal, accompanied by Harrison (on guitar) and two unnamed musicians, on bass and drums.

[20][21] Musicologist Walter Everett highlights the start of the track among notable recordings on which the sustained striking of soft-headed mallets on crash cymbals "produce[s] a wonderful soft and shimmering roll", in this case generating "colorful interplay" with the organ part.

"[46] Apple reissued the single in the United States in 1972, by which point Preston had left the label for A&M Records and was enjoying his first major US chart success.

[53] Writing in the NME in July 1969, Richard Green described the single as an "amazing record", adding: "If ever there was a 'natural' for the charts, Billy Preston's 'That's The Way God Planned It' … is it.

"[54] In Melody Maker, Chris Welch wrote: "this is superb, with Clappers and Peter Edward [Baker] playing in relaxed but heavy style, and Billy singing with full maturity.

"[55] Billboard magazine's reviewer said: "Preston's move to the Apple label proves a strong one via this blockbuster blues item with meaningful lyric line.

"[56] In his role as "Hit Talk" columnist for Disc and Music Echo in August, Desmond Dekker described the song as "catchy" and said Preston was "very talented" and a "good Beatles discovery".

[35] More recently, AllMusic critic Bruce Eder has written of "That's the Way God Planned It": "one of the best production jobs that Harrison ever delivered; aglow in a swelling gospel-style organ and rippling with bluesy electric guitar, a chorus soaring high over all of that, and Preston's career-defining vocal performance at its center, the song was irresistible.

"[57] Reviewing the 2010 reissue of That's the Way God Planned It, Joe Marchese of The Second Disc describes the song as an "anthemic title track" that "quickly establishes its own identity" after the initial similarity with "Let It Be".

[51] Writing in Rolling Stone that year, David Fricke opined: "[Preston] would have bigger hits in the Seventies but never make a better one than this album's rapturous title track …"[58] In Blues & Soul magazine, Sharon Davis wrote that, from Preston's beginnings as a child prodigy, the song "really elevated Billy into the mainstream record market, bringing to the fore his remarkable pedigree".

[64] Two shows were held that day, at Madison Square Garden in New York,[65] at each of which Preston performed a rousing version of "That's the Way God Planned It".

[66] The performance from the evening show, which appeared on the live album of the event and in the 1972 concert film,[67] ended with Preston leaving his seat behind the Hammond organ and dancing across the front of the stage,[68] delighting the New York audience.

"[71] Referring to the song's segment in the concert film, Justin Gerber of Consequence of Sound praises Preston's showmanship and suggests that this "powerful" live version "could cause pause for a non-believer" as the singer undertakes "a full-on dance of someone who has seen the light".