The Response to Prayer

As we move into this month of fervent prayer, have you ever wondered if your prayers are effective…that is, if they are getting thru to God? Is there something we should be doing differently, or better? Are we to pray on our faces or on our knees? With lifted hands or folded hands? When a friend delivered the message of Lazarus’ illness to Jesus he said, “Lord, the one you love is sick” (John 11:3). He based his appeal on the perfect love of the Savior. He didn’t say, “The one who loves you is sick.” He said, “The one you love is sick.” The power of our prayers does not depend on the one who makes the request or how its made, but rather on the one who hears the prayer. Knowing this, we have reason to rejoice! It really doesn’t matter how we pray, all that matters is that we pray! We can and must repeat the phrase in many ways. “The one you love is tired…is sad…is hungry… is hurting…is lonely…is depressed…is afraid…” The words of our prayers will vary, but the response never changes. The Savior hears our prayers. Then, just as in Lazarus’ case, he moves. But he moves in his perfect time to answer our prayers in ways that sometimes surprise…sometimes stun. Psalm 34:17 says, “The Lord hears good people when they cry out to him…”