More than once, I’ve heard well-intentioned Christians imply or say that we shouldn’t ask God for too much in prayer. I have to admit that I’ve thought this way myself at times. After all, we shouldn’t be selfish, and the most important aspect of prayer is growing in intimacy with God, not giving him our to-do list.
There’s a very important grain of truth in this concern: We have missed the whole point of the Gospel if we are more concerned about the things the Lord can give us than about the Lord himself. Our hearts are not satisfied by the gifts of God, but by the Giver.
I’ve been increasingly aware, however, of our need to boldly ask the Lord for the things that we need in order to live the Christian life. If we find ourselves struggling to know or do God’s will, what can we do but boldly ask God? If we are struggling to make ends meet, shouldn’t we request God’s help? The Lord does not want us to be self-reliant, but to learn to trust in him. Jesus encourages us a number of times in the Gospels to make bold, confident requests of his Father:
Amen, amen, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you. Until now, you have not asked anything in my name; ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete (John 16:23-24).
Therefore, I tell you, all that you ask for in prayer, believe that you will receive it and it shall be yours (Mark 11:24).
Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened (Matthew 7:7-8).
To the best of my knowledge, the Scriptures do not tell us not to ask God for good things. Scripture does offer several cautions about such prayers of petition:
As you spend time in prayer today, then, don’t hesitate to ask the Lord for the things that you need with bold confidence, but always surrender to his will. “And we have this confidence in him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in regard to whatever we ask, we know that what we have asked him for is ours” (1 John 5:14-15).