This might be the way the Pharisees interpret this revealing THEIR heart which is to bask in the reflected glory of God. Is God actually lacking in something that He needs us to come up with it, or is this just the scam of those using religion to line their own pockets and egos? The one who seeks glory because he has none is the devil and thus it is no wonder that Jesus looked at the Pharisees and saw only children of the devil.
What is the greatness of God?
What did Jesus say made one great?
Hint: It was not seeking glory and lording it over others.
Jesus in Matthew 20:26 and elsewhere says, " whoever would be great among you must be your servant."
So from Jesus’ perspective, for God to be great would mean that He seeks to serve others. And if God is not lacking in anything then isn’t that exactly what you would expect God to do. So I think people are getting God confused with the “god of this world.”
You cannot think that means Jesus is giving us a way to get anything we want or think we need. Frankly this is one of the most common portrayals of the Devil – one who comes into a community offering everyone exactly what they want and the result is hell on earth.
I have said it many time and I will say it again now, “hell is our heart’s desire and heaven is God’s desire for us.” If you think this makes hell sound good then you do not understand the real depravity of the human heart.
But ok, even supposing in some case what a person wants is also what God wants for us… does that mean that Jesus is offering us a way to have God set aside all the laws of nature to give us those things in whatever way that we would like. I deny that the omnipotence of God even includes an ability to do anything in whatever way He chooses as if logical consistency did not apply.
So in all these ways prayer might be understood, no it certainly does not work. Prayer is not a way to direct, manipulate or control God, let alone a way to change the rules of how the world works to what we might like. The very idea is absurd. So what can prayer do then? It can be a way of making effort when we have no idea what to do about something. I can be way of being patient and putting things in God’s hands. For these things at least prayer does work.