John Stott, The Message of the Sermon on the Mount, IVP, 1978, p. 186.
In prayer we do not “prevail on” God, but rather prevail on ourselves to submit to God. True, the language of “prevailing on God” is often used in regard to prayer, but it is an accommodation to human weakness. Even when Jacob “prevailed on God,” what really happened is that God prevailed over him, bringing him to the point of surrender when he was able to receive the blessing which God had all the time been longing to give Him
John Stott, The Message of the Sermon on the Mount, IVP, 1978, p. 186.