I have previously written that prayer is not a means to an end; prayer is the end. Prayer, in other words, is not to get from God; prayer is to get God Himself.
Jesus speaks about this truth in Luke 11:11-13:
Now suppose one of you fathers is asked by his son for a fish; he will not give him a snake instead of a fish, will he? Or if he is asked for an egg, he will not give him a scorpion, will he? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?
Jesus is arguing from the lessor to the greater. If earthly fathers are evil, and yet give good gifts to their children, how much more will the heavenly Father give good gifts to his children.
Yet, Jesus does not say that. He ups the gift. He does not say that “your heavenly Father will give good gifts” but that “your heavenly Father will give the Holy Spirit.”
What Jesus is saying, then, is that through prayer you can have more of God in the person and ministry of the Holy Spirit. This is indeed the one prayer that God always answers: the prayer for more of God. He is the ultimate good gift.
What does it mean to have more of God? To have more of God simply means that, in prayer, your relationship with God grows. The Triune God becomes more real, personal, joyful, good, glorious, and great in your life. It is an experiential “more” that you receive from him. God does not change. What changes is you— your appreciation and grasp of Him.
So, if you find your life boring, rote, or stale right now, I challenge you to beg God to give you more of Himself. He will! “How much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?”
Pastor Dan