God answers prayer according to His promises. When you do not ask on the basis of these promises, your prayer is not answered. It is similar to how a father relates to his children. No parent commits to give his youngsters anything they want or ask for. He makes it clear that he will do certain things and not do other things. Within these limits the father answers his child's requests.

It is the same with God. His promises form the proper basis for prayer. Learn what God has promised and pray according to the promises of God. One good way to do this is to go through the Bible and mark all the promises. Use your Bible when you pray and base your prayers upon these promises.