prayers to get God's attention

gospel reference: genesis 18: 16-33, nehemiah 1:4-11, mark 9:14-29
based on the sermon/series: getting God's attention
enlightened at: trinity@paya lebar

how often have we heard others pray and felt that our own prayers pale so much in comparison? well..maybe it is time we shed this inferiority complex because..God does not grant prayers and wishes based on the flowery language one uses, He does not dismiss one's prayer just because it lacks eloquence or is filled with "lahs", "wats" and "hors" and i highly doubt He runs a spell or grammar check before letting your prayers through!

in the first passage abraham's prayer was conversational but God still acknowledged every word that abraham said. in the end, because of abraham's prayer, we see that God granted salvation to lot (abraham's nephew's) and his family.

in the second passage, nehemiah's prayer acknowledged all his own weaknesses and faults and humbled himself in front of God. God delivered him to Jerusalem to rebuild the place nehemiah calls his homeland.

in the last passage, the father put his trust in Jesus to overcome his own doubts and to heal his son. and through his faithfulness, his son was healed of the evil spirit.

we can see from the passages that all three prayers were very different. abraham's prayer was but a conversation with God, nehemiah's was a humble plea and the father's was a cry for help but yet all their prayers were answered. therefore we should be comforted that God hears all our prayers, not the eloquence of them, not the flowery language we fill them with, not the perfect grammar or pronunciation, but He grants them based on the faith and the sincerity we put into them.