valuable question relayed and revisited

Recently a few questions were relayed to me that come from someone re-evaluating their faith and searching for better answers. One of the questions that struck me as something we don't often think about, but I know I have asked myself in the past, was - how do you know that God is listening when you pray? I remember asking myself this very question, and honestly until now I don't know that ever found an answer. Being that prayer, in my mind, is such a personal thing it is a really tough question to answer. It's not like email, there is no "mailer-daemon: email not accepted for delivery" telling you that God isn't listening, and you can't request an electronic receipt to let you know it got there okay. I really had to stop and think for a moment before I could really come up with some spiritual answers that didn't come out sounding trivial.

First off, I truly believe that prayer is a matter of trust, love, and faith. You trust that Jesus wouldn't tell us that we should pray if God wasn't always listening. By personally communicating to Him your worries, joys, struggles, and good news you show your love for God. As for your prayers, you have faith that God is listening, smiling when you share your joys, and tending to your needs and concerns. But as it has been said by many people, we have to trust in the wisdom of God to answer our prayers as He sees fit, not necessarily as we might wish.

On a less abstract note however, I do feel there is a way we can know that God is listening. I know I am not alone in feeling that taking my burdens in prayer to God, my load feels a little lighter. There is a calming, soothing, inner peace that comes from always bringing God into that inner place of your heart where you carry the best and worst of things. Sharing these kinds of things with friends can ease your mind, since you can at least talk about what is going on in your life. But to truly feel at peace in your heart and confident in your journey, I find that confiding in God both the good and bad is the only way to go. Although, there are times when that inner peace isn't immediate, probably more often than not. Hindsight is 20/20 as they say, and with time you can often look back on key events in your life and see God at work - which I guess prayer also requires patience now that I think about it.

As for the person who asked the question, I only hope and pray that God will help them find the answers they are looking for, whether they ask for my help or not.... but I will be there to bounce thoughts off regardless.