My little guy often calls to me from his room at the end of nap time or first thing in the morning. When he calls, it's usually with a request.
"Mooommmmmyyyyy!!! I want some milk!!!"
"Mooommmmmyyyyy!!! The sun is out. I think it's time to get up!"
"Mooommmmmyyyy!!! I need a tissue!!!"
The other morning, I didn't answer him immediately when I heard his little voice coming through the monitor. (To be honest, I was hoping that I could have a few more minutes of quiet before the day's craziness began, but that doesn't help my illustration) :)
Suddenly, I heard doubt in his voice as he asked, "Mooommmmyyyyy!!! Can you hear me??"
His faith in the fact that his mommy would take care of his request was shaken. Maybe I couldn't even hear his "need" anymore!!
Of course I heard him. I just wanted him to wait a little bit!
Sound similar to your prayer life? It sure reminds me of mine.
I talk to God daily amazed at the freedom I have in Christ to speak to the creator of the universe. I share my feelings, my burdens, and my requests.
But, sometimes I doubt. I subconsciously start wondering, "God, can you hear me??"
I'm not seeing immediate answers to my requests, and things in life aren't working out quite like I wanted. Maybe it's because He's not even hearing my prayers!!
It's then that I return to scripture in order to find passages to prove my theory wrong. Here are just 4:
Psalm 6:9, "The Lord has heard my supplication; the Lord will receive my prayer."
Psalm 66:19 "But certainly God has heard me; He has attended to the voice of my prayer."
Proverbs 15:8b, "But the prayer of the upright is His delight."
Proverbs 15:29, "The Lord is far from the wicked, but He hears the prayers of the righteous."
These passages as well as so many others restore our confidence in the fact that God does hear our prayers. He is not ignoring us. He isn't fed up with our "humaness".
He may, however, be asking us to wait (sometimes for a VERY long time). Our job is to rest in the fact that our Heavenly Father hears, knows, and loves us in an incredible way. He desires for those prayer conversations, and can't wait to do amazing things for us!
Philippians 4:6, "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God."