Mark 11:24 Therefore I say unto you, what things soever ye DESIRE, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.
Introduction
Desire is not a mere wish. It is a deep seated and an intense longing for something. In the realm of the spirit, it is an important addition to prayer. Prayer is the oral expression of desire. The deeper the desire, the stronger the prayer. The failure of prayer is owing to the failure of desire. Strong desires produces strong praying, weak desires produces weak praying and weak faith.
Desire to know God more
II Chronicles 15:15 "And all Judah rejoiced at the oath: for they had sworn with all their heart, and sought Him with their whole DESIRE; and He was found of them; and they Lord gave them rest round about".
God draws very close to the praying soul. To see God, know God, and live for God is the main objective of true praying. Prayer desire is to see God and have a clearer, fuller, sweeter, and deeper revelation of God.
Blessed are those with strong desires for God
Matthew 5:6 "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness; for they shall be filled".
Hunger, in other words, strong desire and longing to know God is like a magnet that draw God's presence to us. A soul hungry for God is like a sponge, such soul absorbs God's glory and power, and able to radiate that glory.
The Syrophenician woman desires help for her daughter
Matthew 15:25 -28 "Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord help me. But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to the dogs. And she said, truth Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters table. Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt".
The woman's desire to see her stricken daughter healed caused her to take her daughter's case as her own, by saying "Lord help me" the Lord seemily tries to discourage her by saying "it is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to the dogs" but the woman's desire was too strong, holding on, pressing her case, refusing to let go or to be denied. The burning desire in the heart of this woman secured the healing for her daughter, and the Lord put His seal upon her strong faith and desire "O woman, great is thy faith! Be it unto thee even as though wilt (desired)". What a lesson on desire and it great beneifts.
Desire to see the lost saved
Romans 10:1 - Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved.
Apostle Paul's desires was to see the lost saved. That earnest desires moved him to pray with fasting and tears. His desires were granted, for many were saved, and incredible miracles were wrought through him. Is the desire to see a loved one saved strong enough in your heart to cause you fast and pray with tears? Shelah.
Desire in prayer
Desire is intense. It want something and want them badly. Desire shoots at its objective. Don't let your desires spread out everywhere and hit nothing. Many things may be desired, but they are to be specifically and individually expressed in prayer. It is this singleness of desire, that counts in praying and drives prayer directly to capture or acquire the thing desired, not mere wishing for things.
Without desire prayer is a meaningless mumble jumble of words. Such uninterested, formal praying with no heart, feeling or real desire is nothing but a waste of precious time, and no real blessing result from it.
Hunger is an active sense of physical need. It creates cravings for food. In like manner, the inward awareness of spiritual need creates desire, and desire creates prayer. Desire is an inward longing for something that we do not have, but need. It is something God has promised and that can be secured by earnest prayer at His throne of grace. The urgency of our desire holds us to the thing desired with courage that refuses to be lessened or loosened. It stays, pleads, persists, and refuses to let go until the blessing has been given.
You can pray for God to give you desires
Psalm 21:2 - Thou has given him his heart's desire, and has not withholden the request of his lips.
If you lose your passion you lose your power. The devil will do all he can to kill our desires and without desires our praying become powerless. If you feel your desires are weak, pray for the Lord to give you a burning desire, a fresh passion, an overwhelming zeal, so that your prayer will be an expression of "the soul's sincere desires". True prayer must be full of strong desires. Desire give prayer focus as well as wings, it is like the gunpower that propel the rocket into the orbit.
