When we pray God either gives us what we ask for or something better…
In prayer God gives us what we would have asked for if we knew everything He knows… (Tim Keller)
Those who pray are the most happy people in the world because they realize just how much God does provide for them.
One of the greatest encouragements to continue praying is the joy and remembrance of prayers God has answered in the past.
If God were to give us whatever we want without having to pray… and pray much about it… it would simply confirm what our heart wants to believe… that we can get what we need/want without God. The worst thing God could do for a Christian is to give them what they want without having to pray… and pray much about it. (Thus the next quote)
If God really wants to give up on a rebellious person, He gives them good things without having to pray (Romans 1:24, 26, 28). Let me expand on this one a little…
The wrath of God is not necessarily revealed in hurricanes, tornadoes, or earthquakes. The wrath of God is not to be viewed simply in terms of illness or unforunate things happening. The wrath of God is not to be considered as any kind of dreadful or bad things happening to us. Rather God’s wrath is much simpler and much worse than any of those things and is reflected in the three verses linked to in the previous paragraph.
The wrath of God is when He allows people to have their own way… without Him. The wrath of God is when He simply gives a person over to their own desires. The wrath of God is when He removes His hand of protection and blessing and allows the natural results of what people want that does not include Him. That eventual end of that is hell.
So when God gives up on a person and allows them to get the things they want without praying, He is simply removing His hand from them. Their foolish heart is darkened, and thinking they are wise they become fools (“The fool has said in his heart there is no God.”).
The more reliant we are upon God, the more we will pray. The more we pray, the more we realize how much God provides for us. The more we realize how much God provides, the happier we are. The happier we are, the more God is glorified!