Bringing my request to God

        Regrettably, I sometimes tune out when a certain priest conducts Mass because I abhor the way he mixes politics with religion. But when my favourite priest walked down the aisle towards the altar this morning, I was determined to sit up and pay full attention.
        And I am so glad I did!

        "...The fact is you do not have what you want because you do not pray for it. You pray for something and you do not get it because you pray with the wrong motive of indulging your pleasures..." (James 4:2-3)

        This part of today's Bible reading struck a chord in me and I would have easily missed it had I been smiling indulgently at the little boy who sits in the pew ahead or mentally checking the list of groceries to pick up after Mass.
        I have been praying for IT but I have not been praying earnestly enough for IT. It has become a mantra that I automatically add in at the end of my prayers. On hindsight, I realise that I have never seriously sat down to talk to my Lord about IT.
        I often deny that I truly want IT. I opt to thrust the subject of IT to God, choosing the convenience of Him knowing the deepest desires of my heart.
        I now know how wrong it is of me to do that.
        My Father in Heaven is waiting for me to go to Him, acknowledge that I really want IT and tell Him in our daily conversations.

        "Ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened. For everyone who asks, receives; whoever seeks, finds; and the door will be opened to him who knocks." (Matthew 7:7-8)
        I have never knocked, sought or asked. Therefore, I have not received. I shall now knock on His door, seek His comfort and ask for IT.

        "Do not be anxious about anything. In everything resort to prayer and supplication together with thanksgiving and bring your requests before God."  (Philippians 4:6)
        Ending my prayers with a simple line, as if it is done as an afterthought or as a matter of unimportance, is definitely NOT bringing my request before God. I will stop doing that and sincerely bring my request for IT before God.