ASK, AND IT SHALL BE GIVEN TO YOU (MATT 7V7...)

1 John v14-15:
And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: and if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.

A big part of God's great work in and through us is to give us his heart, and so advance his Kingdom through prayers which have his desires in mind. As we are human, these prayers often start in a very natural and sometimes even very selfish way (although there is nothing wrong with praying for ourselves and our wants and needs as long as they are good and Godly things). However, as we pray, the Lord intercedes for us and the Holy Spirit starts to lead us in our requests. He purifies the requests and makes them Christ centred and filtered, and very quickly we find that our prayers and requests are just as they should be (and even the prayer process is done in a Godly way).

That doesn't necessarily mean that Christ completely changes our prayers and requests, because he loves to keep the sincerity of them and hear them from who he has made us to be in Christ. Often the Lord only has to steer them in the right direction and remind us of the purpose of prayer, and that, ultimately, they are for Him.

Avoid an earthly mindset and fleshly fear that will keep you from prayer and prayer requests. This happens when we presume that we don't necessarily need more of the Holy Spirit, that the Lord will not answer us, or when we believe that we cannot possibly know the will of God. We always need his Holy Spirit (read about how much Jesus himself prayed) as we always need to rely on Christ, the Lord will always answer that which is his will, and we can always know the most important aspects of his will. The understanding of the will of God is made plain through his Word, and many scriptures make his will clear down to the letter. The Bible says that God will give us the Holy Spirit if we ask him, for this will always mean a practically stronger relationship with Christ, greater fruitfulness for his Kingdom, and that we will be a greater blessing and support to his people.

The Lord will give us anything to do with his Spirit if we ask him, but we do need to ask him. The Bible says that we do not receive because we do not ask. Prayer and prayer requests are about communion with Christ, being changed more into his image, better relationships with others, and greater effectiveness for his will and purposes. Prayer is also about the Lord wanting to deposit more of his grace and strength in our lives, and growing us in our faith. All things to do with prayer are good, and if they are not (due to our 'clayness', shortcomings or failings), he will quickly make sure they are by his Holy Spirit through the process of prayer (we just need to step out in faith when we pray- this is what pleases God!). Prayer is also designed so that God can fulfill His will concerning us and give us any promises which he may have previously given us.

What we request in prayer, if we persist for long enough, we will receive if we pray for his sake, his people's sake and for his will and glory. If we have these things as our heart, we will find that we ourselves begin to filter and purify our prayers. We will also find that our heart for the things of God grows, as will our love for Jesus (one of the great designs of prayer!). The Lord also greatly cares for us as individuals, so we can also pray for our own needs and desires if they are good and Godly, and we can be sure that he'll hear and answer us (even if the answer is sometimes a loving "No"- which he, not always, but sometimes will give us a reason for like he did with Paul's request to remove his thorn. His grace will always be sufficient for us, no matter what the answer to our prayers will be).

First check with the Word, then you will know if what you ask is his will or in the context of that will (then when you're answered you'll be able to accept HOW he answers as much as what the answer is). Then you can be ABSOLUTELY confident that he will answer. What is more, you can be confident that you are given His Holy Spirit in the PROCESS of that praying, which is as much a blessing as anything you will receive as a result of what you ask for in prayer.