"You parents—if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead?" Matthew 7:9 (NLT)

Do you wish you could pray with more confidence? When you really want something, you want to show God that you mean what you say. The problem is, you’re not always sure that what you’re praying is the right thing to ask for—and that’s okay.

Matthew 7:9 says, "You parents—if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead?" (NLT). Parents would never do that. If your child told you he was hungry, you wouldn't say, "Here, honey, have a rock."

By the way, it’s okay to laugh at this verse. It’s an exaggeration. This is Hebrew humor! God wants you to know that—just like it’s ridiculous to think a loving parent would give their child a stone to eat—it’s silly to think God wouldn’t give you what’s best for you.

If you ask God for something good, he will never give you something bad. If you ask for something worthwhile, he will never give you anything worthless. And if you ask for something bad, he won’t give it to you, because he is a loving God. He knows what you need better than you do.

This is good news, because it means you don't have to censor your prayers. If you’re like most people, you’re not always confident about prayer. You doubt your requests because you doubt yourself—and rightly so! You don’t have all the information you need to make the best decision. Your prayers are based on human knowledge, which is always incomplete. But God doesn’t expect you to make perfect requests. He knows you’re human.

So, no matter what you pray, it’s God—not you—who will decide if it’s good or not. You don't have to worry about whether or not your request is right. Just ask!

The responsibility for the answer is on God. He will sort it out. That's a great stress reliever when you pray.