I think there is a balance in everything (male/female, god/goddess, light/dark etc), that you need to have that balance. I also believe that you have to give to receive.

If I'm doing a ritual for something specific, I leave a gift - which yes could be construed as having a motive.

Sometimes I go through stages where I give a lot, it isn't to get into credit, or anything like that, it is just the way the cycle is going, then I get to a stage where I need to ask for something.

I'm having huge issues dealing with fear at the moment, so I'm asking for help from certain people/gods/goddesses/etc. I am mindful that I will need to "pay" for this help at some stage.

One thing one of my high priests taught me was that before you ask an entity (be it God, God/dess, Universe etc) for something big that you should ask the price, that if you are prepared to pay what they want, then go ahead and ask. This was more from when we were working at level 2 and with some of the more interesting entities around.