Almost from the moment of conception, we begin to long for things. First it is just our thumb, and then maybe our Mother’s voice. And as time passes, those longings become more and more sophisticated, or should we say complicated?

Eventually our desires begin to overwhelm us, and we begin searching for a easy way to acquire them. Some might lie or cheat or steal, all in an attempt to get what they want. And others see hard work as the way to satisfy their hunger, but satisfaction is usually not within reach.

Some may say they are satisfied, but the way they act tells the real story. The quest to acquire more and more only ends when life ends. But the end of life brings contentment and happiness based on a different set of rules and reality’s.

So, when we pray, is it because we want something or need something? And, is your perception of your so called need, really a need? Or does God see it as just another longing for something you ‘don’t need’, and might even be harmful for you.

From God’s point of view, the more you have, the more you will be distracted from the things of heaven, and attracted to the things of the world. Usually, our prayers are not for the things that God wants, so the power of prayer is seen as powerless to those who feel as if they have not received an answer.

For most of us it is difficult to understand how the things we need, or want the most, are not the same as what God wants for us. Therefore; it makes it very difficult to pray, knowing with complete certainty, that we are praying for the same things that God knows are in our best interest.

The animal in us wants to follow the same game trail every day, throughout our lives, but God knows how unhealthy that is for all of us. It is extremely easy to get caught in a trench and just keep following, instead of digging a new one.

This also makes it extremely easy for the predators to lay in wait. The demons and Satan, of course, know the way you are going to travel before you even take one step. And because of this, you have lost the fight before it has begun.

And if you are praying for something you want, but God does not, you have just opened yourself up for attack! You and I will always find ways to be stupid, but Satan and his evil demons will always be smarter than you! So the next time you think you might have gotten an answer to your prayer; just ask yourself, ‘who answered’!?

So; how do we know when we are praying for the right things? Well, here is one way too look at it. 99.999% of all human prayers are not in line with God’s wishes. So the real task before us is to try as hard as we can to get it right in the first place.

Yes, it is very difficult to think like God, so thinking for ourselves is usually counter productive and a complete waste of God’s time. The smallest of details should be given over to God because he is ‘always right’.

And even that is hard to do. Yet God can deliver you from making a mistake, if you will only tell him what you are thinking of doing, and ask him to stop you if it is not within His will. John 8:12 says; “I am the light of the world. So if you follow me, you won’t be stumbling through the darkness, for living light will flood your path”. Jesus also said in John 8:31, “You are truly my disciples if you live as I tell you to, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free”.

So, what did Jesus say about prayer? In Matthew 6:8, Jesus said; “Remember, your Father knows exactly what you ‘need’ even before you ask Him”! And then he added this; “Pray along these lines; Our Father in heaven, we honor your Holy name. We ask that your Kingdom will come now. May your will be done here on earth, just as it is in heaven. Give us our food again today as usual, and forgive us our sins, just as we have forgiven those who sinned against us. Don’t bring us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one”.

Notice that inside this prayer, there are six things that Jesus instructed us to ask for. The first is to pray that His Kingdom will come immediately! The second is to pray that His will be done on earth, just as it is in heaven. The third thing is to give us our food again today as usual. The forth thing is to forgive us, if we have forgiven others. And number five is to not allow us to be tempted, and six is to deliver us from the evil one.

If you are born again, then you are already a subject of the “Kingship of Christ”. You have willingly signed up for the ultimate rollercoaster ride. Then if you trust Jesus, you will ask that His will be done, regardless of what that will is. And you will, or should know that His will does not change because of its location. And ‘if’ you are ‘truly’ hungry Jesus will feed you, because of His great love for you. Then if you forgive others, you can surely be confident that Jesus forgives you. And you can always count on Jesus to take temptation away if you will work hard at resisting it. And then of course, He will protect you from the evil one, you only need to ask for His protection.

These are all things that Jesus will do for you, because they are always within His will, unlike many other things we pray for. So we should always be searching for things that we can be sure are, ‘the will of God’. Not the will of man or woman or Satan!

Look at it this way. If you sinned in some way that was clearly against God’s will for you, would you ask, or pray for God to punish you? You can be sure that punishment is absolutely within His will for you, right? You don’t ask to be punished because you don’t want to be punished; right? So you don’t ask for a rusty car, or a house with a leaking roof, because you don’t want them, right? But what if God does want them for you? And you pray for a brand new car and a beautiful new home, what happens then?

Just because you force your own will on God, that does not mean he has granted your wish for something ‘not meant to be’. He just stood out of the way and let you hang yourself! Maybe you should pray to be flogged with a leaded whip, that way when it doesn’t happen, you will be grateful.

Or maybe, we should just stop praying for things we want, and ask God to give us what he wants. What he wants will always be the perfect thing for you, even though you might not think so, and it might be the exact thing that someone else wants, but it is all wrong for them.

Just ask for the opposite of what you think you want, and you might be surprised what you get. We are wrong about everything, and God is right about everything, so why bother thinking up silly ideas of what God wants for you, when all you need do is say, your will be done because my will is dumb.