When prayers are not answered to our satisfaction and in our time frame, it is easy to become frustrated. We pray more fervently, more desperately, and more often; we try to "believe" as hard as we can. Still not seeing the desired result, we grow discouraged and give up, wondering why God "didn't hear" our prayer.
The Father, who knows our needs before we ask, always hears our prayers the first time we pray (Dan. 10:12) - if we are in right relationship to Him. The Bible tells us that Jesus was heard by the Father "in that He feared" (Heb. 5:7) - that is, because of his right relationship as a Son. Through the Holy Spirit, He has made this same relationship available to us - available, but not automatic.
If God does not hear our prayers, it is because we ourselves have blocked the lines of communication. Perhaps the Spirit has shown us an area where cleansing is needed, but we have refused to let Him deal with it. Perhaps there is something God requires of us that we simply will not do. He loves us too much to "gloss over" these unsurrendered parts of our lives, and we will get no further with Him until we repent and obey (Psalm 66:18).
Once we are restored to proper relationship with the Father, prayer becomes simplicity itself: "This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him." Instead of trying to be heard "for our much speaking" (Matt. 6:7), we can simply commit our concerns to our Father in the Name of Jesus, and trust the outcome to Him, knowing that we have been heard.
All Scripture references from KJV. Commentary ©2011 Hitchcock Family Ministry. Unaltered text may be reproduced freely without financial gain. Original commentary and Scripture song available at http://www.freescripturesongs.org/this-poor-man-cried.