Imagine a son who is constantly asking his father for things. His requests are usually legitimate, and his father very often fulfills them. The son doesn’t always know how his father will answer, but it’s always worth a shot. He just might get what he wants.
Now imagine another son who also asks his father for a lot of things. But instead of wondering how his father might answer, he usually knows. Why? Because he has spent so much time with the father that their desires have begun to merge. He knows his father’s heart, and his requests fit the relationship.
That’s a picture of two different approaches to prayer: the shot-in-the-dark approach and the saturation approach. One sees prayer as a transaction, the other as a conversation. One focuses on needs and wants and hopes they fit the heart of the Father, while the other focuses on the heart of the Father and fits needs and wants into it. One begins in the heart of the receiver, the other in the heart of the Giver. The prayers may reflect the same content and the same amount of faith, but they have different origins.
As much as possible, let your prayers originate in the heart of the Father. Saturate yourself in his presence, let your heart beat with his, then ask your heart out. Your requests will reflect who he is, and his longings for your life will become yours.
