Making Wishes

We use wishes to express a disire, I wish to' can mean the same as 'I want to' but it is much, much more formal and much, much less common. 
1. Wishes about the present: I wish I could dance, but I can´t.
I live in an apartament, but I wish I lived in a hotel.

2. Wishes about the future: I wish she would talk to me tomorrow.
I wish you could cook dinner tonight.

Sometimes it can express complaints: I wish you wouldn't bother me.
I wish it would stop raining. We can´t go to the park in this weather.

Or it can express regrets: I wish I could help you to cook the dinner but I have a meeting.

Note: You can also use ´if only´, it has a similar meaning to sentences with wish but it focus on the desire to change a negative situation. 
Examples: If only I had a pet.
If only it would stop raining.