The Way We Ask

Does it matter to God how we ask Him for things in our prayers?  I believe it does.

Before I tell you why I believe that let me tell you a story.  When I pull into a parking lot at a store I ALWAYS EXPECT to get a good parking spot.  And the cool thing is that I almost always do!  It's what I call practicing the power of positive expectation.  Expect good things to happen, and they usually do!

So now on to why I think it matters how we ask God for things.

James 1:5-8(NKJV)

5If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. 

6But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. 

7For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 

8he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

When we ask God for something we have to do it with the expectation that God will answer our prayer.  We are expecting good things to happen, always. 

So when we are praying for something it's not "Oh Lord, I beseech thee.  Please, please, please, if it's not too much trouble and you have time, please, please try to help me."  No, it should be more like "Dear Lord,  Thank you for being such an awesome God and thank you for all that you have done for me.  I have this issue that I sure could use your help on.  Here's the deal.  Now thank you so much for all that you have promised to do to help me on this issue.  You are so awesome.  Thank you again for the help!"

See the difference?  The first one is almost like begging God and hoping that just this once He might help you.  The second one is prayed with the power of expectation that you know God is with you there always and He will always help you.  Make sense?  Give it a try!