Prayer is one of the great blessings that we possess as the people of God.  It is both a responsibility and a privilege to be able to approach God’s throne in prayer.  The Word of God makes it clear that God desires for us to pray.  Jesus gave a parable to His disciples, teaching them that they ought always to pray (Luke 18:1), and Paul exhorted the saints at Thessalonica to pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17).

We should feel an obligation to pray because of the cost our Savior paid to open the way for us into heaven’s court.  It is due to the shed blood of Christ that we can enter through the veil into the presence of God.

Hebrews 10:19-20 (ESV)
¹⁹  Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, ²⁰  by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh,

It is obvious that the writer of Hebrews is not referring to the physical tabernacle here, but to the place foreshadowed by it, that is, heaven itself.  The physical veil of the tabernacle was a type of the body of Christ.  That is why when Jesus died on the cross, it was torn in two from top to bottom (Matthew 27:50-51).  That signified that the way to God was opened by the shedding of our Lord’s blood on the cross.  There is now a new and living way that gives all of God’s people (not just the high priest) access to the presence of God.

Will we take advantage of this new blessing?  One thing we can be sure of is that when we pray, God is listening.  He may not always answer our prayers the way we want, or when we want, but He will answer them.

1 Peter 3:12 (ESV)
¹²  For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer…”

Who are the righteous to whom the eyes of the Lord are opened?  They are those who have been born into the family of God (John 3:3-5).  Prayer is a spiritual blessing reserved for those who are in Christ (Ephesians 1:3).  The Bible teaches that God does not hear the prayers of sinners (Psalms 66:18; Proverbs 28:9; John 9:31).  One is changed from a sinner to a saint when he obeys the gospel of Christ (Romans 1:16).  At that point, he becomes a new creation in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17) and enters into fellowship with God.  One of the benefits of this fellowship is a praying relationship with Him.

Being a child of God, however, is not enough to maintain the privilege of prayer.  One must be an obedient child.  The passages above that teach us that God does not hear sinners would be just as applicable to the wayward child of God as to the alien sinner.  The Lord only hears the righteous, and the righteous are children of God who are practicing righteousness (1 John 2:29).

As faithful Christians, we are blessed to serve a God who hears our petitions.  We can ask God for help in times of need (Hebrews 4:16), escape the temptations of the devil (Matthew 6:13; 26:41; 1 Corinthians 10:13), and be beneficiaries of God’s providential care if we ask for it (Matthew 7:7; James 4:3).  As we travel along this journey of life, let us not forget to pray.  One thing we can be certain of is that God is listening.

As you wind down for the night, think about these things.