How can you know that you are pleasing God when you pray? Do you struggle with believing that He will answer your prayers or are you afraid that His answer might be different from your desires?

In the Old Testament, God told Solomon to ask for whatever he desired. Solomon asked for wisdom to rule God's people. The scripture tells us that God was pleased when Solomon asked for wisdom and not only granted his request, but gave him fame and wealth as well. In the New Testament, James tells believers that we can ask God for wisdom and if we ask in faith, He will grant it.

When a disciple asked Jesus to teach them how to pray, He gave them a sample prayer much like the one He gave in His Sermon on the Mount (Luke 11:1-4 and Matthew 6:9-13). In the Luke passage, He goes on to emphasize that persistent prayer is pleasing to God (Luke 11:5-13). Don't give up. Continue to pray until you get an answer.