An angel went down at a certain time into the pool and stirred up the water; then whoever stepped in first, after the stirring of the water, was made well of whatever disease he had. Now a certain man was there. . . When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, “Do you want to be made well?”  - John 5:4-6 NKJV 

Too often we go to prayer looking for answers, but spiritual director and blogger Kelly Chripczuk poses a question: 

How long 
must you wait 
by the water's edge 
longing for the angel 
to dip her toe and stir 
the surface of the world?  
 
And what if, 
after days and months of waiting, 
watching, you sense a movement 
in the air and see the water shimmer 
with circle after concentric circle and yet 
are unable to enter in?  
 
To be near the miracle 
is not enough. Second place 
will earn you no reward.  
 
What then? 
 
Nothing can heal you now, 
save for the one question 
most difficult, "What 
do you want?" 
 
The answer  
to that question 
turns you away  
from waiting, 
away from the still,  
smooth surface 
of the water.  
 
The answer 
to that question 
bids you, "Pick up 
your mat and walk." 

In reflecting on this verse and poem, Chripzuk adds: 

Talking with Jesus, [the man] takes his eyes off the pool. His desire for healing remains, but his focus is changed. 

When you pray, consider: what is your focus? 
And the most difficult question: what do you want?