We can be sure God hears our prayers—because He has promised to hear them, and God never lies! The Bible says, “The same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved’ ” (Romans 10:12-13).

But this doesn’t mean God always answers our prayers the way we think He should—because He doesn’t. One reason is because He loves us, and He knows what is best for us. And because He knows what is best for us, He sometimes says “no” to our requests. As I look back over my life I can recall many times when God didn’t give me what I requested—and later I realized His way was best.

But there is another reason why God often refuses our prayers: We are only concerned about ourselves instead of God and His will. In other words, much of our praying is actually self-centered instead of God-centered. The Bible says, “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us” (1 John 5:14).

The most important prayer you will ever make is to ask Jesus Christ to come into your life—and I pray you will do this today. By His death on the cross He made your forgiveness possible, and by His resurrection He made your eternal salvation possible. And now He is in Heaven, interceding for us as we pray.