We rely on eye contact and facial expressions to acknowledge that people hear what we’re saying. But what about a God we don’t see? How do we know he is listening?

It is our desire for God to hear us. The Book of Psalms, a prayer and praise book, has many verses like this:

Answer me when I call to you, O my righteous God. Give me relief from my distress; be merciful to me and hear my prayer. Psalm 4:1

We want God to hear us. We want God to act.

We know God heard the prayers of people in the Old Testament. God confirmed it in the book of Exodus:

The LORD said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. Exodus 3:7

In the New Testament, God heard the prayer of man who desired a son.

But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John. Luke 1:13

We have to TRUST that God hears us because he heard others before. The Bible shows repeated patterns of prayers being heard and answered.

We have to KNOW that it is not impossible for God to hear my prayers and the prayers of millions at the same time. It’s impossible for me to hear more than one person talking at a time, but I live in a limited dimension with limited brain capacity. Not God.

Sometimes we SEE the prayers answered and know that God heard. That confirmation comes later and we need faith until it happens.

Sometimes, but not always, we FEEL a sense of God’s presence when we pray – a reassurance or a peace.

We must know that God WANTS to hear us and cares so deeply for us that all of our requests matter to him.

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28