In the Gentile world, the gods were seen as distant and indifferent to the needs of humanity. Pagan practices of prayer largely centred around a quid pro quo approach to deity management. The thought was if you said enough words or did the right ritual the gods would be appeased and compelled to move on your behalf. Jesus has previously said, “do not keep on babbling like pagans”. But now Jesus is talking again about asking in prayer through a positive framework. Jesus wants us to imagine our asking in the context of a good Heavenly Father who desires to give us good things. Our vision of what God is like is really important! Unlike the pagan gods, our Heavenly Father is near, cares about our needs, and desires to give us good things. The point of our asking is not to inform or persuade God to do what we think God should do. Nor is this a formula to get what we want. Prayer is more about cultivating our relationship with God as God’s own children. We need to learn to pray and ask from the perspective of children who understand the goodness of God, our Heavenly Father. And once we understand the goodness of God, we know better to ask for the right things, with the right heart.