Prayer is often an expression of an “if-then” deal that tacitly denies equal rights to the other party. The form and essence of most prayers go like this: “If you do this favor to me, I will do this (pioneering, or put in more hours in the preaching) for you.” And “if not...well, then, too bad for you, God, because you didn't deliver as was clearly outlined in the contract.”
This shows religion has failed in its primary duty of RECONNECTING (religare, Latin) man with God and fellow humans; and ironically has led to numerous divisions and disunity! The prayers, rituals and offerings encourage people to seek mostly material benefits from God, thus unwittingly RECONNECTING them more and more with the materialistic world. And what is the result? Disquiet and Disharmony. [Jesus spoke against prayer when he said: “Your Father ALREADY knows what you need before you ask Him.” (Mathew 6:8) The prayer that Jesus supposedly taught thereafter is actually an insult to God [such as asking God to “give us our daily bread”—something He has already made ETERNAL provisions for … and asking God to learn from humans: “forgive us the wrongs we have done, as WE forgive the wrongs that others have done to us”], hence may be an interpolation!
Interestingly, this is something people do not need any proof. People who had swum in the ocean of material wealth would feel pity on those who bargain for material benefits with God through their prayers: “Happiness lies in the mind’s release from worldly things.”—Buddha (Compare Mathew 5:3; 16:24)