While we pray, how often do we feel as though God is not listening? Do you ever feel like there is no one on the other side of the line and you are just mouthing off words? You are not alone in this. For different reasons, many of us feel we are not being paid attention to. Some of our reasoning when this happens may be, “I am not praying according to His will; I have not been faithful enough for Him to pay attention to me; my problem/petition is not important enough; I am not praying correctly; I have not fasted…and on and on it goes until we are so discouraged that we would rather not pray at all. Moreover, if we do pray, we end up praying for issues that are not significant to us, but we think they are to Him. In the end this creates an image of God as a father who does not care for us.
1 Peter 5:7 tells us, “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you”. Isaiah 65:24 says, “24 Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear.”
When the disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to pray, one of the things that he told them is, “the Father knows what you need before you ask Him”.
Some of us may ask the question, “Why ask if He already knows?” Rather than be discouraged by this, we should take heart in the fact that we are not coming to explain to Him our need… He already understands and knows what is in our heart. I don’t know about you but sometimes I fail to communicate clearly what is in my heart with loved ones at home. It is good to know that no such communication barrier exists between us and the Lord! He knows and understands clearly! Therefore, we come to him to exercise our faith in asking so that we can receive.
God heard Hannah as she prayed for a child; He heard Abraham as he interceded for Ishmael; He heard Daniel as he prayed to understand; He heard Elijah as he asked for fire to come down and consume the sacrifice, etc. God hears! He is waiting to hear from you regarding whatever is in your heart. Won’t you come boldly to your Father and obtain mercy to help you in time of need?