Your argument is valid, but at the same time, the Bible answers your argument pretty soundly.
True, Biblical prayer is rarely to demand or question the wisdom of God. Rather, prayer is communication with God to have Him guide and direct you through His wisdom.
Here are a few examples of prayer in the New Testament:
James 4:
2 You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. 3 When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.
4 You adulterous people,[a] don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. 5 Or do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us[b]? 6 But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says:
“God opposes the proud
but shows favor to the humble.”[c]
7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.
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13 Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” 14 Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. 15 Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” 16 As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil. 17 If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.
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The entire context is on how we approach God for what we want. Verses 13-16 wrap it up in regards to a person's desires compared to God's desires for our life.
The model prayer of Jesus is another great example of how we're supposed to pray:
Matthew 6:
Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
9 “This, then, is how you should pray:
“‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
10 your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us today our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation,[a]
but deliver us from the evil one.[b]’
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If you read and study the prayer, it has a few significant components:
- Worship/adoration of God
- Asking God for His direction/work to be done
- Simple request of sustinence
- Request for forgiveness
- Request for salvation and holiness
There is no bombastic request for luxury or even of selfish desires. Therefore, I'd argue that model the prayer of a Christian should be for God's wisdom, rather than inflecting our own desires' in the prayer. Many Christians will attempt to subvert this kind of prayer, but its arguably the most Biblical.
Truly asking God for help usually involves Him imparting wisdom and understanding into a situation to help remedy or rectify the situation in most cases. Far too often, people focus on what God can do for them, instead of what they can do for God. The book of James really focuses on that kind of attitude, and is a great case study for model Christianity, since it was the first book written after the death of Jesus - even before the Gospels were written.
Back from the dead, I'm afraid.
