[SERay]

Provoking thoughts Joe. The scripture that comes immediately to mind is:
"In that day you will not question Me about anything. Truly, truly, I say to you, if you ask the Father for anything in My name, He will give it to you. "Until now you have asked for nothing in My name; ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be made full.” (John 16:23-24)

We are reminded of this joy in many places in Scripture. The Psalms tell us, "Delight yourselves in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart" (37:4). Such an exhortation pictures the believer finding his greatest treasure to be the Lord. The whole of scripture is a culmination of saints petitioning the Creator, and the Creator responding, sometimes in excess of our seeking as was in the case of Solomon (2 Chronicles 1:10). We learn the Son of Man spent an enormous amounts of time in petition of the Father, in accordance to His will. In doing so, it is an act of worship and a reflection of dependence upon the Father.

God takes joy when we entreat Him for personal needs and those of others. It gives the Father great pleasure to provide for his children. Just as a earthly father takes joy in meeting the needs of his children. It becomes a passive relationship to only listen without petition. It is an essential of human relationships, both sides must communicate for a healthy dynamic. Equal similarities are provided throughout scripture as the template for our relationship with him. The perfect model for prayer provided by Christ was primarily petition for self needs found in the “Lord’s Prayer” (Matthew 6:9-13).

God actually invites us to ask him for things: Philippians 4:6 “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” It’s also the model Jesus sets for us. Jesus himself is God yet he still prayed to the Father, and asked him for things (e.g. Mark 14:36), showing us that prayer is part of a relationship. So the fact that God knows better than us what we need, what we want, and what’s good for us, shouldn’t actually stop us from talking with him about those things. When we do ask God for things we’re also expressing our dependence on him, acknowledging that he is in control of all of the details of our lives, and we need his involvement.

As we look at the prayers of people like Jesus and the Apostle Paul in the Bible (e.g. Col 1:3-14, Eph 1:15-19, 3:14-19, Phil 1:3-11), we can see they pray with priorities that reflect God’s. This models for us that when we ask God for things, while we’re free to pray about anything, it’s best to pray for things we know God wants and are good for us and other people. This is less asking for ‘favors’ (like winning a sweepstakes) and more asking for God’s will to be done. Such as growing in faith and godliness, persevering in adversity, relief from suffering, spread of the gospel, etc. We should enjoy our freedom to ask God for things, trusting and thanking him as the good God he is!