Proverbs 28.9 promises, anyone who turns his ear away from hearing the law — even his prayer is detestable.

Everyone prays but not everyone is heard. The Lord is holy, He is God. He is not Santa Claus. Those who pray to Him must be those who listen to Him.

We prove we are listening to God when we read the Scriptures and do what He says. Certainly those who cry out to Him for Him are heard by Him but even these must then pursue Him in order to remain with Him and continue to enjoy Him in relationship.

All of us want our prayers heard. Unfortunately, we most often leave prayer for that time when all else has failed or we feel we have become powerless to change our situation using our own resources. Prayer is certainly for going to God in our time of need for His help but it is far more than that.

Prayer is our communication link with God Almighty. It is our conversation with Him based on what we have heard from Him through His Word. We then respond back to Him in prayer with our questions and commitment to do as He asks. He speaks and we listen, we speak and He listens as we seek to collaborate with Him for the building of His kingdom upon earth as it is in heaven.

This is His will and we know that when we pray according to His will He hears us and grants us that which we are praying.