Prayer gets God's attention. It makes God intensely focus on you, your needs, and your desires. We must remember the Prophet Isaiah, as God sent him to King Hezekiah with a message from on High, saying that King Hezekiah needed to get his home in order, for he would soon die. Immediately, King Hezekiah turned his face towards a wall and begin pressing God with his prayer. The same prophet that delivered the message of death was reprimanded by God to deliver a message contradictory to his original message, a message of life. Prophet Isaiah told King Hezekiah that God, due to his pressing prayer, has added another fifteen years to his life. King Hezekiah's pressing prayer changed the mind of God. One fact that stands out in this biblical illustration is this: GOD HEARS YOUR PRAYERS, BUT ONLY ANSWERS YOUR FAITH. If a measure of faith has not been applied to your prayer, their cannot be an answer. For the bible says that without faith, it is IMPOSSIBLE to please God.

In the book of Daniel (chapter 9), Daniel was focusing on an answer from God, too. Daniel prayed over and over. He in fact repented for sins that he did not do. In reading Daniel 9, we see that Israel's sins were great, but Prophet Daniel stood in the gap for the nation, and pleaded with the God of the Universe for them. But, this illustration shows that Daniel did more than a five minute prayer. The scriptures say that he made supplication, seeking the face of Almighty God! In other words, when he prayed his prayer to God in faith, when he left the altar of prayer, his walk through the rest of the day shows God he was serious about what he prayed. We not only need faith in our pressing prayers, but we need to walk like we meant what we prayed! Our attitudes must be right, our thoughts need to be in order, the way we treat others, and how we conduct our day shows God what we prayed on the altar of prayer was needful of an answer.