We know not what we should pray for as we ought.
Rom. viii. 26.

O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken and do.
Dan. ix. 19.

Grant us not the ill
We blindly ask; in very love refuse
Whate’er Thou know’st our weakness would abuse.
John Keble.

WE know not precisely what is best for us. We know not what will make us truly happy. We know not what will help us best in our struggle against temptations. And if we were to try to make a distinction between our mere passing wishes and that which our souls really needed, we should utterly fail. But we need not try. Let us take all our wishes, all our longings, all the promptings of our consciences, to the feet of our Father. He will hear and He will do. He will hear all we say. He will know what parts of our prayer are best for us to have, and what are not. And He will give us what His fatherly love will choose. And therefore to all our prayers we will add, “Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.”
Frederick Temple.