The most common definition of prayer is that it is communication between God and man—talking to God and hearing from Him. Prayer is a dialogue, not a monologue. These definitions once frightened me: “Am I not praying right?” I would ask myself. Today, however, I find myself both talking and hearing from God, and most times, I’m not “praying.” Prayer is not limited to speaking and hearing, but one thing remains constant: prayer is communion with God. As opposed to conventional conversation, it is a heart-to-mind connection with Him. When the altar of our hearts is well watered by the Word, communing with God becomes effectual.

Throughout Scripture, we see various models of prayer—our case study being 1 Kings 18:36–40. In this account, there was no real-time verbal response from God, yet it was clearly recorded that Elijah prayed: “He prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not… and he prayed again, and the heavens gave rain” (James 5:17–18). Likewise, when Jesus taught His disciples to pray in Matthew 6:6–13, there was no promise of an immediate verbal reply. Yet these passages furnish us with the key to answered prayer: “Thy will be done on earth.” God’s will is documented in His Word; whatever God will ever say has already been said in Scripture. This becomes the surest way to verify the voice of God—by confirming it with His Word. God will never say anything contrary to what He has written. Still, He does respond verbally in matters of clarity and revelation concerning His will: “Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not” (Jeremiah 33:3).

This is why we pray according to His will—that is His response. Scripture affirms, “Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him” (1 John 5:14–15).

The aim of this piece is not to undermine hearing from God in prayer, but to correct the misconception that one has not truly prayed until there is an audible or immediate “reply.” Rather, it is to emphasise God’s most accessible response—the logos of His written Word.

In Matthew 7:7, Jesus reveals three dimensions through which prayer operates: “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you.”

When we ask, we pray in alignment with His will, with confidence that He hears us (1 John 5:14).
When we seek, we pursue His voice and direction, longing for divine revelation (Jeremiah 33:3).
When we knock, we exercise command by faith—declaring and acting on what we have asked and sought, standing firmly on His will and His spoken Word (Matthew 16:19).

This is the first order: a posture of the heart aligned to commune with God. The stones (Ephesians 2:20), the wood (Leviticus 6:12–13), and the water (Ephesians 5:26) in 1 Kings 18:17–40 all point to the Living Word. Once these are properly set in place, we are prepared for the second order—the sacrifice of prayer. (Continued…)