God's presence or God's present

A friend of mine told me that his former church ask the people to pray for "a peaceful and quiet day" at the start of each day. My friend followed this advice and each time when he pray for a peaceful and quiet day, that day would turn out to be extemely eventful. It happened so frequently that he became afraid to pray this prayer. He seeked the Lord and eventually found that he should pray for the Lord's presence to go with him. It does not matter what kind of day is waiting for him, but as long as the Lord is with him, he should face it without fear. He felt that God's people should not be asking for presents (such as a peaceful day) so that they can enjoy it. They should ask for God's presence, so that they can face all situation. They should ask for God's presence, not His presents.