Jesus taught us to begin our prayers by recognizing God's majesty and authority. "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" (Matt. 6:9-10).

God's will is being done in Heaven. The book of Revelation pulls back the curtain and allow us to "see" events that are taking place in Heaven. There, in the spiritual realm, we see the occupants of God's throne room busying themselves with God's will. Orders sound forth from Heaven, and angels go forth in obedience.

In a sense, God's will is being done on earth. God has worked through His power and providence to fulfill prophecies and bring about His overall will for mankind. Everything God has wanted to accomplish has been done (Job 42:2).

While God rules in the affairs of men, He does not rule in every man's heart. This prayer is, in part, an appeal that mankind will come to submit to God's authority and carry out His will in their individual lives. However, there is no use praying that the world will submit to God if we are unwilling to do so ourselves. As we begin each prayer, we must be ever mindful that we are subject to the authority of God, and our will is secondary to His. The Lord Himself showed us this by His repeated prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane - "Nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done" (Luke 22:42).

We must mature to the point that prayer is less about getting our will done by God in Heaven and more about bringing our lives on earth into harmony with God's will. Only when we have truly put God first should we proceed with petitions for ourselves and others.