Have you ever asked God for some thing? We probably all have or at least in our heart’s desire wished for some thing.

I’ve found that when I ask for something in particular, what I really need is the understanding that God has already made you and me spiritually, perfectly, complete, free from sin or suffering. My prayer wakes me up to this fact. I gain a conscious awareness, a divine communion, with the spiritual facts of being. The underlying spiritual substance, if you will.

Christ comes to awaken us to see and know how God sees and knows. This is a moment by moment awakening and comes through deep consecration and communion with God — putting off the old self and ways and putting on the new self made in the image and glory of God. This selfhood radiates, shines and reflects the goodness, nature, beauty, poise, and power of God. It is humble, kind, and meek. It doesn’t hurt or tarnish.

So when you ask God for something, as I have, you may not always get the thing you asked for — the relationship, the house, the job. I remember two different times when I asked God for a specific thing — to marry my boyfriend and to move to a particular location. Neither worked out. Why?

Desire is prayer; and no loss can occur from trusting God with our desires, that they may be moulded and exalted before they take form in words and in deeds.¹

My desires needed to be molded and exalted. I needed to see the substance of what I needed was actually spiritual — love and peace — which I thought would come from these two particular things: my boyfriend and this one place.

when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you…your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him!²

God already knows what we need, so God doesn’t necessarily need to be reminded. We are benefited by study and prayer because we become more aware of God’s perfection and goodness through the inspiration we receive, so we can trust and remind ourselves that God is already maintaining, sustaining us with all we need, and loving us.

Sometimes we need help to awaken to this consciousness, so that we can experience health, steady supply, purpose, and better relationships. We can ask for someone to pray with us, a friend, Pastor, or church community. When receptive hearts come together to listen for what God sees and does, blessings unfold.

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^{1 Mary Baker Eddy, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 1
2 Matthew 6:6, 8 New Living Translation}