I have prayed for two things for two years but nothing has happened so far. What type of human needs is Jesus talking about in Matthew 7: 7 and Luke 18: 5?

Catena Aurea is a work by St. Thomas Aquinas in which he delves into the deep meaning of the Gospels as understood throughout the early Church. Aquinas makes use of the teachings from the likes of Chrysostom, Augustine, Rabanus, and Jerome (Church Fathers from both the East and the West) to bring about an illuminative reading of the story of Christ. Regarding Matthew 7:7 – “Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you.” – Aquinas notes that the early Church Fathers saw three different outcomes for prayer. 

One offering supplications to God regarding the necessities of this life is like a sick man going to the physician. The physician knows better than the ill man what is good for his sickness. But if he asks that which God both promises and commands, his prayer shall be granted, for love shall receive what truth provides[1]. There are also times when we do not get what we ask for. As Augustine puts it – “But the Lord is good, who often gives us not what we would, that He may give us what we should rather prefer” [2]. Yet again, there are times when God might delay His gifts. This is so that we may cherish the gift received after the wait rather than get it at once and take it for granted. The wait also builds our prayer life and increases the desire for great things within us [3]. Whichever situation we are in, whether we get an immediate answer, whether the answer given is not what we had prayed for, or whether there is a delay in getting one, all of them take us closer to the physician who knows best. Therefore, we should always pray without fail.

This again is made clear in Luke 18:7 – “And will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night?”. The ruling made by a judge is not just because he gave exactly what the plaintiff/defendant asked for. It becomes just when what is being provided is precisely what is needed and is given at the right time. 

References

1. Augustine of Hippo. (Prosper, Sent. 212.)
2. Augustine of Hippo (Ep. 31. 1.)
3. Augustine of Hippo (Serm. 61. 5.)