Does God Hear My Prayers?

We pray multiple times a day every day of the year - but does God really hear all of those prayers?

Growing up in a Christian home, going to a wonderful church, and attending a Christian school it's always been drummed in my head that I need to pray as much as possible. When I eat, when I go to bed, when I wake up, when I'm afraid or worried, when I'm happy or thankful. That's a lot of praying. I'm not saying anything against that amount of prayer - because prayer is powerful - I'm just saying that it's a lot of prayers we say every day. It's great that we stay in communication with God about everything that's happening in our lives. Yes, He's omniscient and already knows what's happening in our lives, but it's great to still pray and make our needs known to God.

Have you ever wondered if all of your prayers are actually being heard? God is everywhere and knows everything - but with everyone praying so much, does He actually hear all of our prayers? I'm sure we've all had our moments of wondering this very thing, I know I have. It's easy to think that not all of your prayers are important enough for God or that He won't hear each and every prayer you utter. It's even easier to feel discouraged believing that God might not have heard some of your prayers because they've been left unanswered. Feeling discouraged about praying can quickly lead to you starting to pray less or even stop praying altogether. This obviously isn't the path we'd prefer to take, but all too often it's what happens to believers - new and long time. What does the Bible tell us about God hearing our prayers?

"Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us." 1 John 5:14

No matter what worries we have about God not hearing our prayers, we should know that He does hear us. He might not give the answer we want Him to, but He hears us. He might not give an answer to certain prayers right away, but I guarantee that God is not ignoring those prayers. It seems impossible for one person to hear the prayers of the millions, if not billions, of Christians around the world - and I understand that doubt. However, we must remember that God is an all powerful being that can do things that seem impossible. It's what makes God so amazing. If we are praying to Him, God is listening to us. He loves us way too much to ignore anything we're trying to say to Him. If we know and believe this truth, why do we worry that He doesn't hear our every prayer?

Yes, God loves us and He doesn't ignore us - but sometimes it really feels that way. I prayed and prayed for a job from the day I turned sixteen and could work. I prayed and applied for jobs constantly, but always got turned down for one reason or another. Three years had passed when I finally got invited for a job interview - I thought my prayers had finally been answered! I went to my interview and was told that I was hired and they would contact me with a start date soon. I thanked God and waited for that start date. I waited patiently. A few days had passed. Then a week. Then two. I thought God had heard my prayers about needing a job and finally answered them, but where was my job? I continued praying, hoping to hear back from this job that had said they hired me. My parents told me I should apply for others, my cousin who worked at the same place told me that it didn't seem promising. I worried that my prayers weren't being heard. Three months had passed before I received an email asking if I was still interested in that job I had interviewed for. I started working right away - my prayers had been heard and answered! I admit I did worry that my prayers were getting lost in translation somehow or that God was simply saying no to those prayers, but it all worked out in the end. Sometimes, you need to keep praying and believing for something, even when everyone around you says to stop.

"Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:6-7 (NLT)

When our prayers don't seem to be getting heard by God, there are two things we can do - keep praying and believing for that thing to happen, or wonder if God really is listening and worry that He won't answer your prayer. I love the verse quoted above, it's one of my personal favorites. I found it one night quite by accident, but it was exactly what I needed to read at the time. This is a great reminder that we don't need to worry, instead we should pray about it and give our worries to God. I know what you might be thinking - what if my worry is about my prayers? I suggest continuing to pray on it. God doesn't always answer your prayers instantly or within a few days. There is no tracking number on your prayer, no expected delivery date. You need to have faith and believe that God will come through and intervene, sometimes when you least expect it. Could you imagine how the story could have drastically changed if Daniel stopped praying after he was thrown in the lion's den? Or if Job listened to everyone and stopped having faith in God and praying to Him? There are so many amazing people in the Bible who never lost faith and never stopped praying - even if it didn't seem like God was listening to their prayers.

I want to ask you one simple question: What is it that you're praying for? Whatever it may be, I want you to stop and think about it now for a moment. Think about how long you've been praying for this, how often you mention it to God. Let me ask another question: Are you believing for this prayer to be answered? You can pray all you want, but I don't think it'll get very far if you don't believe it's going to happen yourself. The Bible says you can move mountains if you have faith the size of a mustard seed - which is, in fact, very small if you haven't seen a mustard seed before. Just put that mustard seed sized faith into your prayer. Don't listen to the worries in the back of your mind telling you that God doesn't hear your prayers or that He's ignoring you because the prayer isn't important enough. Keep your faith, believe for it, and know that God will answer your prayer in His perfect timing. Prayer is so important and so powerful. Don't be discouraged from praying over everything because you think God doesn't hear you. He hears you, He loves you, and He will intervene.