Better than, "Yes."

1 John 5:14-15 ESV
And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. [15] And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.

See, that's the kicker, discerning if my request is according to His will.

A lot of things seem "good" and "fair" and "just" and they well may be but that does not mean, at least in my experience, that they are according to His will.  They may be outside His will or even contrary to His will.  It depends on the circumstances and, well, His will.

Ephesians 5:10 ESV
and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord.

1 Thessalonians 5:14-15, 17-18 ESV
And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. [15] See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. [17] pray without ceasing, [18] give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

We always pray, "Your will be done." But all too often, for me at least, it's my way of confessing that I am absolutely clueless as to whether or not my request is in His will.

Then there is the kicker:

James 4:3 ESV
You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.

There's the.  I assume that many of my personal prayers are not answered in the way I hope because somewhere underneath all the solumn prayer words there lurks some selfish motive that thwarts, not His answer, but my asking.  I ask wrongly.

That's a tough nut to crack!  I can well understand why the Puritains were so determined concerning the need for self-examination.   We really do have to accept that our hearts are deceitful and that we are the ones we deceive most  often.  We can easily fool ourselves into thinking that we are being selfless and submissive in our prayer and that they are according to His will.

Right now I have a very specific prayer request before Him.  I've kept it simple, short and sweet.  I don't believe is it greedy or self-serving but rather fair, good and reasonable.  BUT there is a lurking doubt in the back of my mind because I will benefit from a "Yes  It is a prayer about me, for me.  It is a prayer and also a test.  I have asked for X which is a fair request and consider a "Yes" as an answer to another request/query.  In short I have figured if He grants X then Y is in His will.  Make sense?

But then that old....ask wrongly and don't test God thing comes up in my mind and I doubt not His goodness but the rightness of my prayer.

So I come to:

Philippians 4:5-7 ESV
Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; [6] do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. [7] And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

This does not promise a "Yes," to my prayer.  What it does promise is His peace in His answer which will in turn guard my heart and my mind.  And isn't that better than a "Yes"?