Asking for help or saying thanks?

What is the essence of prayer

In Christian practice, personal prayer is a special time we set aside for individual communion with God, very similar to how we set aside a special time to take our girl/boyfriend or our husband/wife to a dinner date at a nice restaurant. This is a time where we have cleared our schedule and distraction so we can have a heart to heart conversation with our significant other: both listening and expressing.

As our life circumstances change, our main prayer topic will also change:

• In times of sickness we probably focus more on petition BUT to prevent us from being bogged down we also use the time of prayer to remember how God has healed us in the past so our hearts can STILL be lifted up through thanksgiving.
• In times of joy we probably focus more on thanksgiving BUT to prevent us from being over-confident we also use the time of prayer to petition God for protection from evil arising from our succumbing to temptation and from the work of the devil carried by others against us.

How to pray when time is limited

To answer your question

If time was limited, which is best? Say thank you or ask for help?

Christian practice will recommend to say whatever prompts your heart to express at the time, since when we pray it is NOT just we who pray, but also the Holy Spirit inside of us who help us to pray (Rom 8:26). So if your plane is going to crash and you have only seconds to pray, just express what comes to your mind.

That is why cultivated habits of praying is very important, just as cultivated habits with our most significant ones to whom just one glance or one word can carry a lot of meaning. People who have intimate relationship with God don't have to say a lot, trusting that God will fill in the blanks from the context of our lives that He already knows! Ultimately, praying is for our benefit, to increase our intimacy with God since God already knows us more than we know ourselves.

How do we develop a rich prayer life?

We want to have cultivated prayer habits so when we come to a time crunch, we don't have to say much. It helps to identify areas where we need to improve by reviewing the 5 Types of Prayer.

You already mentioned two:

• thanksgiving: expressing gratitude for what God has given to us personally
• petition: expressing our personal need to God, such as in the Lord's prayer "give us our daily bread"

You may want to cultivate 3 more common types of prayer:

• worship: adoration of God's immensity and how our very existence depends on Him
• intercession: expressing our love for others by doing petition on their behalf, asking for what we know is good for them
• praise: acknowledging the various aspects of God's being (such as his unfailing love, faithfulness, mercy, patience, etc.) and what God has done for us (such as His sending His Son to save us from the power of sin)

Why developing a rich prayer life is important?

This is to prepare us to engage God better when our future circumstances calls for prayer, as well as to help increase our trust and love of the God who has saved us and who also is in the process of sanctifying us to prepare us for the life to come. The life of prayer is an integral part of what God wants to do in our lives.

Usually, it's better to thank.

Jesus says the Father knows what you need even without asking (Matthew 6:8). So if you think you haven't enough time to ask, just thank him.

pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances (1 Thess 5:17-18)

But sometimes you need help immediately, in such cases ask him for help and thank him afterward.

and call on me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me (Psalm 50:15)