Let me ask you a very simple and straightforward question:

What exactly do you really want God to do for you at this time?

This was essentially what Jesus asked Bartimaeus, the blind man who was screaming for His attention on His way to Jericho.

"What do you want me to do for you?" Jesus asked him. The blind man said, "Rabbi, I want to see"." (Mark 10:51).

At the end of the day, Bartimaeus not just arrested the attention of Jesus, he also got what he wanted; and if you want to get what you want in this life from God, your demands must have these two important attributes of Bartimaeus’ request:

#1. It was authentic

Blind Bartimaeus could have asked for money, or even to become a disciple of Jesus. He probably could have asked for eternal life – like the rich young ruler; but he didn’t because those weren’t what he really wanted.

The man kept it real. There was authenticity in his request; he was real and honest about what he felt he needed at that point in his life.

Did you notice that Jesus did not rebuke him for asking to see? Jesus didn’t say ‘Hey, you are carnal. You should have asked for something more spiritual.’

You see, authenticity is important in our relationship with God. He already knows your heart, so why not be honest with Him in your mouth?

We may not always know what we should ask, but at any time we can be honest about what we really want.

"LORD, who may dwell in your sanctuary? Who may live on your holy hill? He whose walk is blameless and who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from his heart" (Psalms 15:1-2).

What’s the point asking for the anointing, when what you REALLY WANT is a husband? Who are you fooling? God already knows what you want.

The most important thing is not necessarily what you ask for, but the fact that you ask. Let me tell you why.

Regardless of what you ask for, when you get it, you are inspired to believe and ask God for more; and this is what matters to God – your faith.

So, he tells us to ask for ANYTHING!

"And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it." (John 14:13-14).

Then He tells us that we’ll get WHATEVER we ask for!

"Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours." (Mark 11:24).

God is not as much pleased with the correctness or spirituality of your request as He is by the childlikeness of your trust in Him.

The faith of your asking is more important than the rightness of your request.

He wants you to ask for ANYTHING and WHATEVER, because when you receive, your faith grows; and when you can believe God for little things, your ability to believe Him for bigger things grows.

We learn to believe God for the spiritual and eternal by believing Him for the material and temporal.

For instance, how can you believe God to take you to heaven when you can’t believe Him for the money to pay your bills? Who’s fooling who?

Therefore, feel free to express your real desires before your Heavenly Father. Authenticity matters more to God than religion and church gimmicks.

Don’t fool around.

Be real. Be genuine. Be authentic. Don’t feel guilty about what you really want.

Spirituality is not a matter of what you ask, but who you trust for your provisions.

What exactly do you really want? Please, keep it real before God.

#2. It was specific

Jesus: "What do you want?"

Bartimaeus: "I want to see."

Jesus: "Then see."

Bartimaeus did not beat around the bush. He knew exactly what he wanted. It was clearly defined in his mind, and he spoke in specific terms – I want to see.

Make up your mind about what you want from God at this period in your life.

God doesn’t like double mindedness, or vague talk.

"But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does." (James 1:6-8).

Take time to clearly define what you want in your own mind. Eliminate variations and ambiguity. Then be sharp and straight in your asking.