“God, our good Father, will either give us what we ask for, or give us what we would have asked for if we knew everything he knows” (Timothy Keller)

The basic idea of prayer isn’t giving God information that He doesn’t already know. It’s about presenting your information before God and learning to see it from His point of view.

Your problem doesn’t change because of prayer as much as you do. Your perspective does. Your way of looking at your problem does.

I know in my own life that sometimes I ask for the wrong thing. It’s not a God-glorifying request but rather one that caters to my fleshly appetites and would probably destroy me if I got it.

Sometimes, I ask for things that are too small. God is thinking bigger than my own little world. He’s thinking about the whole world and filling heaven with worshippers from every tribe, tongue, and race.

Sometimes, I don’t get what I ask for when I ask for it because I’m not ready for it. Getting the right thing at the wrong time can be just as bad as getting the wrong thing.

Really, prayer isn’t about getting from God as it is getting to know God. Then you start thinking differently and asking for different things. The more you know God, the less you want from God and the more you simply want God.