Jesus taught us to seek God’s will in this way in the prayer that He gave His disciples. He told us to pray, “Your kingdom come” (Luke 11:2). Jesus’ greatest desire was for God’s sovereign rule to be done in all things in and through His life. We must also have this same desire, and express it in our prayers. God must have the same unhindered access to our lives for His kingdom purposes.
Jesus also told us to pray “Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Luke 11:2). God’s kingdom comes on earth when God’s will is done on earth. We know God’s will is done in heaven because there is nothing in heaven to hinder it. Jesus is saying, “Pray that the same perfect accomplishment of the Father’s will in heaven may be accomplished on earth.” Heaven comes very close to those that have submitted their hearts to the will of God in prayer.
The phrases in the Lord’s Prayer remind us that our minds and our hearts are deeply affected by sin, and sin strongly affects our ability to pray, so that “we do not know what we should pray for as we should” (Romans 8:26). By example and teaching, Jesus helps us by showing us what to pray for. If we are careful to release our wills to Him in prayer and to set our hearts to give God unhindered access to our lives, we will keep our prayers from being self-centered and outside the will of God.
We are His servants, He is not our servant to do everything for us that we want. We are to have confidence in Him that there is nothing He cannot do, and He does hear us, He does respond to our requests according to 1 John 14-15, but we are to pray according to His will!