"If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?"
Luke 11:13
When I was young I heard in a homily given by a Jesuit priest: "Be careful what you ask God for." I will say that he then had my complete attention. Why would we not ask God for everything we could possibly want? Money, a job, a new car? I knew better than to ask God for something like He is Santa Claus. What did the priest mean? That's when I had the answer. It occurred to me then that I had not asked God for anything except to get me out of something, out of trouble, for help in times of need. I didn't remember asking God for something that would make me more holy.
We see in this complete Gospel passage in Luke 11 the words persistent, ask, receive, knock, opened. Do I take the time to sit in prayer and do that? Or do I ask for my laundry list of what I want, or what I want to happen? The priest went on to say we don't really know what we need, so a gift we ask for now, may not be what's best for us in the future. By asking God for something that we design, from purely our own thoughts, without discerning whether it is a gift of the Holy Spirit, can lead us to self directing our goals without God. We may be missing the "whole" holy gift God has waiting for us.
So yes, be persistent in prayer, ask, be open to receiving, and listen for that reassurance that we are in the right place.
