After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. (Matthew 6:9-11) 

Of all of our struggles in prayer, the greatest by far is the volitional struggle. More than the spiritual, physical, mental or emotional struggles of prayer, it is the volitional struggle that is most often lost in the Christian’s prayer closet. It is not our inability to overcome the devil, fatigue, infirmity, or worldly interference that is most responsible for our fruitless and frustrating prayer lives. Instead, it is our inability to overcome ourselves. As Pogo said, “We have met the enemy and he is us.”

In the model prayer, the Master Teacher taught us to pray, “Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.” Contrary to popular opinion, prayer is not an attempt by us to bring God over to our side; instead, it is all about us going over to God’s side. Too many Christians today view prayer as our attempt to talk God into doing what we want. However, Jesus taught us that the purpose of prayer is the fulfillment of God’s will, not ours.

Our attempts to turn God into a universal bellhop ready to do our bidding at our every beck and call is more than a gross misunderstanding of the nature of prayer; it is blasphemous! To reduce the divine to such profane proportions is a most serious offense against the Almighty. 

Rather than viewing prayer as a vehicle for our manipulation of God, we should view it as an opportunity to partner with Christ in the carrying out of His plans and purposes in this world. It is only by possessing such a high and lofty view of prayer that we can hope to have fruitful prayer lives. 

“Don’t pray that God’s on our side, pray that we’re on His side.” (Abraham Lincoln)