How is one supposed to pray for something he needs?
Is he/she supposed to request it from God once or repeat the request over and over, or make arguments why he deserves it or something else?
It says for example that Isaac and Rebeca prayed years for a son. Did they just sit in a corner and repeat the request over and over again?
(update: looking more for a source from books that instructs on how to do this rather than the experiences of an individual in tanach)
Rav Shafier (of The Shmuz) says that the best way to pray for something specific is to realize that G-d is in control of everything, and human beings are not.
When a person realizes how incredibly helpless he or she is without G-d , he or she will cry out to G-d for assistance, in very simple terms, the way that a young child cries out to parents to have his or her needs met.
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Rebbe Nachman of Breslov has many specific teachings on prayer. He taught that one should speak to Hashem in one's own words for at least an hour each day, thanking and praising Him, doing teshuvah, asking to come close to Him, and asking for any material or spiritual things we need. Though the main emphasis in much of his writings is on praying about spiritual matters, Rebbe Nachman also taught that one should pray for any physical thing one needs, even something as insignificant as a missing button on one's coat. Here is one paragraph partially summarizing his approach:
"It has already been explained how important it is to seclude yourself and pray, and how powerful a method this is. It is the path by which we can come close to God. Everybody should set aside fixed periods every day and express himself before God in his own native language. It is much easier to say what you need to say when you are using your own language. You should set forth whatever is in your heart. Use every kind of appeal and argument. Use words that will endear you to God and win His favor. Plead with Him to draw you closer. Every individual knows his own personal pain and sorrow and the distance that separates him from God. It is impossible to convey the true greatness of this method. It is superior to all others. It is the way of serving God, and through following it everyone can attain the ultimate good in this world and in the World to Come. There is nothing that cannot be accomplished by prayer and entreaty. The greatest of the Tzaddikim achieved what they did only through this practice. Think about it carefully and you will see the greatness of this path. Set aside one hour every day for this, the rest of the day be happy -- and then you will be truly blessed." (Likutei Eitzot, Hitbodedut).
More can be found here: http://www.azamra.org/Advice/meditation.html and here: http://www.azamra.org/Advice/prayer.html and here: www.azamra.org/Essential/hisbodedus.htm
Rabbi Shalom Arush, a Breslover Rosh Yeshivah in Israel, has two additional teachings regarding praying for a particular thing. If one is in need of something very important, he teaches that one should pray for six hours straight for that thing, or for an hour a day for that thing for a whole month. He reports many miraculous salvations resulting from this practice, as described in his books and articles.
Chazal tell us that Moshe Rabbenu davened to go into Eretz Yisroel 515 times.
Chafetz Chaim - Likutei Amarim ch.11
"In summation, all the many calamities that come on us and that we are not saved from them is because we are not screaming and outpouring in prayer over them. If we would pray and would pour out before HaKadosh Baruch Hu, certainly our prayers and supplications would not return empty. And it's not enough for a person to pray the shemonei esrei three times a day, rather a few times per day, a person needs to pour out prayers and supplications in solitude, in his house, from the depths of his heart. Because the three prayers (shemonei esrei) are already fixed in his mouth and he doesn't take them to heart so much. But if a person would contemplate in solitude and make a cheshbon hanefesh on his personal situation, his great poverty and his many toils, and for all this to live on crusty bread and water, then he will pour out his heart like water in front of Hashem, yisborach, and the prayer will go out with deep kavana and with a broken heart and a lowly spirit. A prayer like this will certainly not return empty. And then when his soul is bitter on him, on his situation and his weak standing, and he drops supplications before HaKadosh Baruch Hu, he should also remember the great pain of Hashem yisborach, because he also, so to speak, does not have rest. In all our suffering He suffers..."
comes down to the verse "pour out your heart like water in the presence of the Lord" - Lamentations 2:19
there is no "technique" for this for that would miss the point
My prayers have been answered many times. I think of Rabbi Nachman and his advise, I pray in silence or in tears, secluded in my car, or in my room, or walking in the park. I thank hashem for his kindness, for his blessings, and I accept that the solution is in his hands. I am machmir of mitzvot, especially brachot and tzedakah, and await the best, for it is sure to come.
I'm going with the Avraham praying for Sdom route. Each time he was rejected he tried a different approach. Both mathematically and as far as 'reasoning' with Hashem 'chalila licha etc'. I would also guess that Chana's promise to give her first child over to Hashem was the first time she tried that.
