(This article comes from1517.org and was written by Michael Berg, professor of theology at Wisconsin Lutheran College in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. You can find the original post here.
 The hardest word of prayer is always the first. Itâs hard to start. âOur Fatherâ is the hardest phrase of the Lordâs Prayer, but you can let it flow once you start. Once you are reminded that God is indeed your Father and that you are indeed his child, you can proceed, knowing that your words will be heard and that they will be answered.
Perhaps the next hardest words of the Lordâs Prayer are âThy will be done.â They are, however, the most faith-filled words of the Lordâs Prayer. When we pray, âThy will be done,â we more often than not pray against our own will. âThy will be doneâ is akin to saying, âWhatever I have prayed for, whatever I have fretted over, whatever I have been anxious about, whatever I begged of you, dear Father, forget I even said it. If it is not according to your will.
âYour will in heaven is better than my will. What you desire is better than what I desire. You know more. You love more. You are wiser, and you are more compassionate. You know me better than I know me. You have my best interests in mind. I donât. I might think I do, but I donât. And it is not just because I do not have the perspective, experience, knowledge, and insight you do; it is because I am blinded by sin. I might have trouble believing it, but I know that your will is better than what I desire. So Iâll say it. Iâll pray it: âThy will be done.ââ
âThy will be doneâ is the most faith-filled of all the petitions of the Lordâs Prayer.
But letâs be careful here. This does not mean that we should hold back our desires. We shouldnât sanitize our words to the Father in a feeble attempt to make them sound pious and acceptable in his sight. First, he already knows what we want. So let it out. Ask for the brand new Corvette. Go ahead and ask. He already knows what you are thinking. There is no hiding your desires from him.
More importantly, your prayers are not what make you acceptable in his sight. You have already been made acceptable through the blood of Christ. The first words of the Lordâs Prayer is a reminder of your status before God. He is Father. More than that, he is your Father. You already enjoy a relationship of forgiveness and love. You are already his daughter or son. You are already cleansed in the blood of Christ. You are already a part of the family. You are already heirs of the riches of heaven.
So just let it out. Forget about your piety. There is no need to impress him. Forget about the grammar. Just speak. Donât worry if your requests are right or not. Heâll give you the answer you need. Donât worry about how the prayer sounds. You are not a street corner Pharisee showing off your righteousness to the world. Words of prayer are intimate words between Father and child. The problem with our prayer is not that we ask for too much, but that we ask for too little. As if God is too weak to handle our big concerns or as if he is too ignorant to know what we really desire.
And do not be afraid to lament, even complain. Again, he already knows what you are thinking anyway. Tell him that you are frustrated. Tell him that you are disappointed. Tell him that you are mad, even mad at him. He can take it. Like a child sitting on her fatherâs lap, pound your fists on his chest and scream, âWhy?â And then feel his big burly arms wrap around you. Feel your face slowly pressed into his chest to muffle the cries in compassion as he tells you that it will be okay.
Finally, prayer is for us. Parents donât wait for infants to ask for food with the proper please and thank you before they feed their children. Good parents care for and love their children no matter what they say. Parents put the words of a loving relationship on the lips of their children. The mother instructs her little one to say, âI love you, Mommy,â not so that the mother will love the child, but so that the child knows that theirs is a relationship of trust. âYou can trust me,â the mother is saying to the child when she teaches her to say, âPleaseâ and âThank you.â
The same can be said of the Lordâs Prayer and every other prayer we were taught. These prayers are for us. They teach us the grammar of faith and the grammar of love. They teach us to say the words of faith like, âOur Fatherâ and âThy will be done.â Prayer teaches us what is important and what is not through the many answers - both no and yes - we receive. Through it all, we are taught to trust.
Prayer is not an exercise in piety, nor is it a prerequisite for receiving Godâs favor as if he only loves those who first ask. What father brings home a newborn from the hospital, places the car seat on the front porch, and says, âWhen you are ready to ask for our love, then we will let you into the familyâ? The Father in heaven doesnât act this way either.
So just pray. Let it out. Pray, âThy will be done,â knowing that he will always do what is right and good for you, even if you canât figure it out, even if you do not understand it, even if the grammar is terrible, even if it is less than poetic, even if it is less than pious, and even if you donât get the Corvette. Just let it out. He is teaching you to trust. He will do right by you because he is your Father.