They Have Little Because They Ask Little

"Might it not rather be feared that many believers in this generation pray too little?  Is it not the actual amount of time that many Christians give to prayer, in the aggregate, very small?  I am afraid these questions cannot be answered satisfactorily.  I am afraid the private devotions of many are most painfully scanty and limited; just enough to prove they are alive and no more.  They really seem to want little from God.  They seem to have little to confess, little to ask for, and little to thank him for.  Alas, this is altogether wrong.  Nothing is more common than to hear believers complaining that they do not get on.  They tell us that they do not grow in grace as they could desire.  Is it not rather to be suspected that many have quite as much grace as they ask for?  Is it not the true account of many, that they have little, because they ask little?" - Ryle, A Call to Prayer