You also joining in helping us through your prayers, so that thanks may be given by many persons on our behalf for the favor bestowed on us through the prayers of many. (2 Corinthians 1:11)
Of all the many marvelous privileges and blessings we have received as Christians, our access to God through prayer may be the most taken for granted and neglected. Martin Luther once said, "I have so much to do that I shall spend the first three hours in prayer." He also said, "To be a Christian without prayer is no more possible than to be alive without breathing."
Our sovereign God has the unabated power and loving desire to hear and answer our prayers. And yet we often neglect to even bring our requests to Him; ...You do not have because you do not ask. (James 4:2) He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? (Romans 8:32)
Will the Lord always hear and answer the prayers of His children? Of course He will, but He is not a vending machine where you put in your request and He always gives you exactly what you want. Like all loving parents, God gives us what is best for us, which is not always what we want. Actually, we often don't even know what is best; In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. (Romans 8:26, 27)
Does God answer everyone's prayers? No, only the prayers of His children, Christian believers, who have a relationship with God through faith alone in the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. But for us who do belong to Him, we must not take for granted or neglect to pray for yourself and others. Pray about every thing and pray at all times because; ...The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much. (James 5:16)