Be Careful What You Ask For

Shortly after beginning his service as scribe to Joseph Smith in the work of translating the Book of Mormon, Oliver Cowdery wanted to take a turn at translation. He asked Joseph to inquire of the Lord, and the following is part of the answer he received:

Remember that without faith you can do nothing; therefore ask in faith. Trifle not with these things; do not ask for that which you ought not.
--Doctrine and Covenants 8:10

Oliver surely thought his request was righteous. He wanted to be a greater help to Joseph and to be even more directly engaged in the work. I suspect, however, that a bit of pride may have also been a motivation for Oliver's wanting to translate. He was an educated man, a school teacher. He may have thought that his command of the English language would enable him to provide more beautiful and fitting language in the translation than the nearly illiterate farm boy Joseph could produce. 

Part of Christ's answer to Oliver was this warning. Make sure you are coming from a place of faith and not pride. And be careful what you ask for. 

So, how do I know what to ask for, and what not to ask for? I start by praying to know what to pray for. The Holy Ghost can reveal to me the prayers I should pray.

I do not (or should not) pray to change God's mind. Rather, I pray to align my mind with His. He has blessings He wants to give me, but He gives only in accordance with my agency and desires. If I can learn what God plans to give me, and ask for that thing, He will gladly grant it to my profit. 

If I am stubborn and self-willed and ask for what I want with my short-sighted and imperfect perspective, God may still answer my petition, but to my deficit instead of to my profit. Mercifully, He usually dismisses my wayward pleas with a gentle No.