Monday Morning Manna: Asking God to Hear Our Prayer

Do we have to ask God to hear our prayer, or does He automatically hear? When Nehemiah was preparing to go before the King to request permission to go to Jerusalem and rebuild the walls of the city, he prayed, “O Lord, I pray, please let Your ear be attentive to the prayer of Your servant” (Nehemiah 1:11). Furthermore, Daniel prayed, “Now therefore, our God, hear the prayer of Your servant, and his supplications” (Daniel 9:17). Finally, David prayed, “Incline Your ear to me, and hear my speech” (Psalm 17:6). Unfortunately, most of us just begin our prayer as though God is already listening, with nothing else to do except wait for our communication. While God is eager to hear from us, He does have a few other things to do. I once heard a new believer begin his prayer, “God, this is John. Remember me? If so, please hear this.” I know what the Bible also says, for instance in 1 John 5:14: “Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.” So maybe we don’t need to ask God to hear us. Perhaps to be heard by God, all we need is just to pray according to His will. How do you pray? Think about it.

Dr. Dan Crawford, Senior Professor at Southwestern Baptist Seminary, is the WestCoast Baptist Association’s Spiritual Life & Leadership Mentor. Follow Dan on Twitter @DrDanRC and Facebook www.facebook.com/dan.crawford.