There's a joke I always enjoyed that goes something like this: There was a politician, a pilot, and a mariner stranded on an island for a few days. While out exploring, the politician comes across a golden lamp. Upon rubbing it, a genie appears offering three wishes. Not wishing to do the wrong thing and wishing to poll his constituents, he finds the pilot and the mariner and asks them what to wish for. They both exclaim "I know what to wish for!" The pilot wishes for a plane so he can take off and leave the wretched island. His wish was fulfilled. The mariner wished for a boat so he could take the boat off of the island. His wish was also fulfilled. The politician, though, couldn't come with anything. For hours he couldn't think of anything he could do to get off of the island. Out of frustration he exclaimed "I wish my two friends were back here so they could help me!" His wish was fulfilled.
One of the common misconceptions about prayer is that it is a wish factory. If you wish for something and pray about it, it will be so. This is (hopefully) obviously false. Some people have unfortunately decided that God must not be real then, if their wishes aren't fulfilled through prayer and since Christians aren't winning the lottery, God must not be real. Some people would respond that these people just aren't being sincere enough, and if you were truly sincere, you would get what you wished/prayed for, adding to the trouble, misinformation, and complication, not to mention being a horrible witness to non-believers.
What about us though? As true believers, what do we pray for? What are our deepest utterances and hopes towards? Should we wish through God as unbelievers might wish at 11:11 on the clock, or through wishing wells, upon a shooting star, or New Year's festivals? Absolutely not. What then, should we wish/hope/pray for, if we could ask for anything and receive it? How should the yearnings of our heart look, and to whom should we present them? Let's look at someone who actually had this opportunity. Let's look at Solomon in II Chronicles 1.
God appeared before Solomon and told him to ask what God should give him. Solomon did not wish for money, honor, long life or the death of his enemies, but rather wisdom to rule God's people. He did not wish for something on his behalf such as money or long life. He did not ask for something that would have benefit the people such as the death of Israel's enemies. Instead he asked for something that would benefit God, wisdom. Solomon said that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of all wisdom, it is with the wisdom of God he penned those words, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
Now let's consider our prayers. Are we praying for things for ourselves or others? Would our prayers please God? We don't need to be perfect, in this same chapter we read that Solomon did as king what God strictly forbid kings to do. Nevertheless, knowing fully what Solomon would do, God granted wisdom. How much more should we, as priests of the Most High God and members of His body the church, seek wisdom. Not wisdom for the gain of money or long-life, but the wisdom of God that can only come from God. All of our prayers need to stem from this thought: May God grant me the wisdom to do what He wills me to do. Remember, Solomon didn't ask for himself or for others but for God Himself; let us pray likewise.
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