I ran across this from Reggie McNeal earlier this week.  He was writing about leadership specifically, but it applies to life generally:

Great spiritual leaders have God’s view of a situation.  This enables them to partner with him in bringing about the future God desires.  This powerful prayer life is not accidental.  It requires a commitment and discipline on the part of the leader to listen in prayer, not just talk.

I take exception to the idea of “partnering” with God.  Partnership implies equal standing, and we are not God’s “equals” by any stretch.  However, the point is still well-made:  for us to lead–or just to live life–in a way that fulfills God’s good purposes, we have to be serious about prayer–listening as well as talking.

That brings us back to “Thy will be done” and the idea that prayer is ultimately about aligning ourselves with God’s purposes.  Whether it’s a specific petition of the Lord’s Prayer, the pattern of the prayer, or just the seriousness and earnestness of it, it’s a powerful and important reminder of what prayer is all about.