When you pray, do you ever feel as if you are speaking to the air? Or do you ever wonder if your words make it to God’s ears or if they get lost in space somewhere? Do you ever find yourself asking “Does God even hear my prayers”?
Sometimes, for whatever reasons, we can feel strongly that our prayers go unheard. But as believers, we shouldn’t doubt whether or not God hears us when we pray because He does.
God Does Hear Your Prayers
The Book of Revelation reveals that the prayers of God’s saints are kept in a golden bowl (Revelation 5:8). This shows that your prayers do not disappear and they do not get lost in the air. They are carefully kept and cherished by the Father who knows all your wanderings and keeps your tears in a bottle.
Scriptures such as these in the Book of Psalm, also show that the Lord does hear us when we pray:
But know that the Lord has set apart the godly for himself; the Lord hears when I call to Him. (Psalm 4:3 (ESV))
This poor man cried out, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles. (Psalm 34:6 (NKJV))
These verses show us that God’s ears are not closed, but they are wide open to the prayers we pray. However, the reason you might feel God does not hear you may be because of a lack of knowledge that He does. Or you might have a spirit of unbelief hindering you from believing that He does.
However, these are not the only things that can prevent some from understanding that God hears our prayers.
The Issue of Unanswered Prayers
When you have asked for something and then not received it, what has been your response? Have you believed that God is working out the answer? Or have you simply shrugged and assumed that God did not hear your prayer?
I believe that one of the things that can lead people to believe God does not hear them, is the issue of unanswered prayers. Or at least what we often assume are unanswered prayers.
But what you must understand is that just as God hears every prayer, He also answers every prayer. However, you may not consider it to be that way.
For some people, for as long as they did not get what they desired, the prayer went unanswered. But you must understand that “No” is an answer. Even silence is an answer, one that can often mean “Not yet” or “The reply is coming.”
So, never fall into the trap of thinking that just because your prayer went “unanswered” it was not heard. Do not doubt that God hears your prayers because He is an attentive Father.
God Is Attentive
God pays attention when you speak and He listens to everything you say (godly or ungodly). He also takes seriously what you take seriously. So when you pray seriously, He listens to that prayer and considers it seriously.
God does not throw away your prayers or ignore them. He listens to each one and responds to each one. But it’s up to us to become familiar to the way He does that.
Look Out For Answered Prayers
It is also important to consider, that there are numerous prayers we make, consciously or subconsciously, that God responds too. But we often forget to take them into account.
Sometimes, we come before God with a list of petitions, forgetting what He has already done. Sometimes, even completely unaware of what He has done.
Yet, it is so important to take inventory and look back at the things you have asked for and been given. It is so important to look for out for those answered prayers. When you do this, it will remind you that God does hear and He does care. Oftentimes, He is simply waiting for the right time to give you an answer to your prayer.
All at the Right Time
We often have a timeline for when we want things to be accomplished in our lives. This mindset can lead you to press your timeline and will upon God. But God does not move by your time. He moves in His own time.
So instead of trying to force your will to be done in your prayers, ask for God’s will to be done. Surrender and let God respond to you and give you answers in His way and in His time, never forgetting that your prayer has been heard.
Don’t Forget This
Never forget, child of God that your tears are seen, your pain is known and your prayers are heard. God is concerned about you and He cares about you.
God heard Zechariah’s prayer for a child. (Luke 1:13)
God heard the prayer of an Italian centurion. (Acts 10:1-4)
And He has continued to hear the prayers of all His people throughout the centuries. So, why not believe that He hears yours?
Our Heavenly Father’s ears are open to you, beloved. If you had forgotten that or perhaps never known or believed it, I pray that you believe it now. I pray that as you go forth and pray from now on, you would know that the ears of God, the Creator of the Universe, the God of the whole earth, are open to you and He hears you when you pray.
