Jesus encourages us to go to God in prayer with confident expectation. We are to ask, seek, and knock, with the promise that it will be given, we will find, and it will be opened to us (Matt. 7:7-8). The variable in the equation of prayer is not God's willingness to respond, but our willingness to approach God in faith and make our requests knows to the courts of Heaven.

To help us understand God's willingness and ability to answer our prayers, Jesus compares God's care for us to our care for our children.

"Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!" (Matt. 7:9-11).

Jesus calls us "evil." We are not evil in that we seek to hurt our children. We love our children and will not knowingly or willingly harm them. If they ask for something they need, we will give them what they need. When Jesus calls us "evil," it is in comparison to God's goodness. There is no comparison, and that is the point Jesus is making. If we can be counted on to help those we love, how much more can God be counted on to help those He loves?

Do we approach God's throne with confidence (Heb. 10:19-22)? Do we ask in faith, believing God hears our prayers (James 1:6-8)? Do we ask with expectation that we will receive what is best for us (1 John 5:14-15)? If not, we have not allowed the Lord to teach us how to pray.