Thoughts on asking God for things

I've just been reading 1 Samuel 1 and 2 (through to 2:10) and was particularly struck by 1 Samuel 1:18b:

Then the woman went her way and ate and drank with her husband, and her countenance was sad no longer.

Hannah ('the woman') is deeply distressed because she doesn't have in children; a situation made worse as her husband has two wives and the other has a bunch of children and is always rubbing in that discrepancy.

In the text I was reading today she brings this distress to God, asks for Him to give her a son, and promises that she will then give that son back to God (i.e. he will live in the temple and serve there right from when he's weaned).  Then comes the verse I quoted.  After bringing her distress to God and asking for a specific solution, she's calm and no longer sad.

I've been thinking a lot recently about how, although I bring situations that distress me to God, I don't tend to ask for God to do something in particular in response.  I feel things like: "who I am to tell God what to do?" and "I know God can do stuff here, but I don't know that He wants to".

But is that just a cop-out?  Jesus, after all, tells us to ask for stuff: most especially in Matthew 7.

I'm really struggling with migraines that have been really debilitating over the past few months - yet I've barely been talking to God about how hard that is, let alone asking Him to take them away.  In that context, today's story really stood out to me.  Sometimes when I hear people pray it feels like they're 'requiring' God to provide certain solutions to their problems, and act like God has promised that He'll do what they say.  That doesn't sit right for me.  But today I'm feeling like I've fallen into a different error in how I've responded to that.  Frequently not asking for anything in particular - just bringing situations to God - despite Jesus telling us to ask.  And then, when I do ask, I don't feel like I leave the situation with God, as it looks like Hannah has done here - I'm still trying to work on it myself as well, rather than trusting God to sort stuff out.

Lots to ponder!