Prayer

I was encouraged by this article. Sometimes we are told as Christians not to create a wish list for God, not to be only focused on asking for things, but to use our prayer time to communicate with Him, to thank him for His many blessings and to get to know Him better. And, while I agree that our Lord is not Santa Clause-- here to give us our every wish and desire; I do think we sometimes belittle the fact that the Lord can make big things happen---heal the sick, reconcile friendships and family relationships, bring community and family to the lonely, provide a job to the unemployed or the funds to go to school or the mission field, etc. And, there is a very real aspect of our relationship with God that comes from trusting him and bringing our requests and fears before Him knowing He CAN provide and that many times, He wants to. That although He cares more about our holiness than our happiness, He does care about our desires as well.

Also, others (Christians and nonchristians) don't expect God to step in and answer our prayers, so why not ask God to show them

Not what they're expecting