The disciples asked the Lord Jesus how they were to pray, and if anyone ever knew how to pray, it would be Him, wouldn’t you say? What instructions did He give them?  Beg and plead?  Whip themselves with chains?  Fast?  Go about with sad faces?  All of the above?  No, it was NONE of the above.     The Old Testament in Psalm 100:4 tells us: Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.  So, that means every prayer should start with thanksgiving and praise.  But that isn’t all, is it?  Let’s read what He said in Luke 11:1-13:
Luk 11:1  And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.
Luk 11:2  And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.
Luk 11:3  Give us day by day our daily bread.
Luk 11:4  And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.
Luk 11:5  And he said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves;
Luk 11:6  For a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him?
Luk 11:7  And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee.
Luk 11:8  I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth.
Luk 11:9  And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.
Luk 11:10  For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
Luk 11:11  If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent?
Luk 11:12  Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?
Luk 11:13  If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?
Take note of something here:  Jesus said the heavenly Father would give the HOLY SPIRIT to those who asked Him.  That’s the FIRST thing we need, according to the Lord Jesus.  Not healing, not money, not a job, not a house, but the Holy Spirit!  Why the Holy Spirit? because without the Holy Spirit you cannot discern how to pray and what to pray for.  Actually, that’s why the disciples didn’t know how to pray, because they had not received the Holy Spirit yet.  When you receive the Holy Spirit, He teaches you what the will of God is, so you’re not praying against God’s will in the first place.
   Many times I’ve heard people praying, Lord, if it’s your will, heal me.  Well, right away I know that person doesn’t have the infilling of the Holy Spirit, for if they did, they wouldn’t pray like that, for they would already know it is God’s will to heal, that being clearly demonstrated by the Lord Jesus.  They would instead ask ONCE, and then begin thanking Him because He said it is already done.  He did?  Yes, haven’t you read the Book?  You see, if you don’t know what the Holy Bible says, you have no idea what the will of God is.  And even if you HAVE read the Bible, without the Holy Spirit revealing His truth to you, you’re still in the dark.  That’s why it’s so important to ask the LORD for the Holy Spirit.  That’s one reason why it is written in John 12:37-40,
Joh 12:37  But though he had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on him:
Joh 12:38  That the saying of Esaias the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spake, Lord, who hath believed our report? and to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed?
Joh 12:39  Therefore they could not believe, because that Esaias said again,
Joh 12:40  He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them.
   Without the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, frankly, we’re just being led about by our own wisdom and what we hear from others.  And that’s why sometimes we pray goofy prayers, asking for things we should not, and not believing for the things we SHOULD pray for as being done.  Notice I said back there, asking ONCE and believing it’s done.  Go back and read those verses Luke 11:5-8 again.  Some people teach to keep on seeking, keep on asking, and keep on knocking.  Think about this if you will: suppose you go next door to your neighbor’s home and you keep going up and down the street looking for his house, even though you know where he lives, you keep seeking his house for a couple hours or so.  Once you’ve done that, you knock on his door for a couple hours.  Never mind the fact he answered the door when you knocked the first time.  No, you keep on knocking because someone told you to keep on knocking if you really want his attention.  So he is standing there with the door open and you ask him if he would give you a loaf of bread because you have company and you have no bread to put before him.  He says, Sure, and goes and gets you a loaf of his bread.  So you keep asking him for a loaf of bread, even though he already said yes.  Do you see yourself doing that?  No?  Then how do you explain the fact that you ask God to heal you, and the Word of God clearly shows it is God’s will you be healed, and yet you just keep on asking, keep on asking, keep on asking, and you weren’t paying attention to the fact He already said YES,YES, YES!!!   Wouldn’t it be much easier to just believe Him and thank Him?
   If you have the Holy Spirit inside you, then you’ll stop asking and asking and asking, because you will know God heard you the FIRST TIME YOU ASKED!  Ok, glad you asked, Jesus told a parable about the unjust judge in Luke 18:1-8:
Luk 18:1  And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;
Luk 18:2  Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man:
Luk 18:3  And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary.
Luk 18:4  And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man;
Luk 18:5  Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.
Luk 18:6  And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith.
Luk 18:7  And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them?
Luk 18:8  I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?
Notice what Jesus said in the last part of verse 8:  Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?  Will He come and find someone of faith who can pray ONCE and believe it’s done? Or will He have to keep bearing with our continual asking? He said we ought to pray and faint not.  That doesn’t mean to try to wear God down by being like a continually dripping faucet.  That means pray, believe it’s done, and don’t give up because it doesn’t look like anything is happening.
   God wants our understanding to be opened so we may be converted and that He should heal us.  And that healing is not just for our body, it’s for our entire being! What do you do after you have asked the LORD for something?  Thank Him.  If you don’t see it right away, keep thanking Him.  God isn’t deaf, He heard you the first time you prayed.  What’s the hold up?  Perhaps it’s the part in Mark 11:24, Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.  If you ask for something, what is the natural thing to do?  Say THANK YOU!  That is, if you really believe you have received.
   If you keep on asking, then you’re telling God you didn’t believe you received the FIRST time you asked.  What will make God think you will believe the SECOND time you ask, or the THIRD time, or the FIVE HUNDRETH time?  No, just save yourself a lot of trouble and believe the first time and be done with it.  Thanking God shows Him you appreciate what He has done for you, and that you believe His Word.  Now just thank Him!