When you pray for things, you don’t get them because you want them for the wrong reason—for your own pleasure. You unfaithful people! Don’t you know that love for this evil world is hatred toward God?
James 4:3–4
Be careful what you ask for when you pray, because the things you ask for can actually distract you from God. It’s better for you to ask for nothing and just let him decide what you need than for you to become so obsessed with asking him for what you want that your prayer becomes more about your needs than about worshiping him.
Praying with the goal of having some kind of experience or to get something out of God will get you into all kinds of trouble. You start to lose sight of why you live, and that’s not for you but for him. The best thing to do is to pray humbly, knowing that whatever God gives you will be the best, and to tell him and yourself that you trust him no matter what the outcome of a particular prayer. When you internalize the fact that what God wants for you is always so much better than anything you could ask, prayer becomes more about saying “your will be done” than “please, God, I really want this.” It is good to pray continually and to ask for everything you need, but make sure you always ask with the idea that God’s will is ultimately all that you want. When you pray for God’s will to be done, you can be sure that everything you ask will happen, because God’s will always comes to pass.