A few years ago on television, a public speaker was giving a talk about the three deepest needs we have as persons. What would you imagine those to be? The first need we have, the speaker said, is to know someone who will listen to us. We all have a story to tell, a need to verbalize our feelings. We want someone who will listen to that. Secondly, he claimed, we want the person listening to believe what we are saying. We want someone who will trust our story. Finally, the television speaker said that when we have found such a person who listens to us and trusts us, we want to be assured that such a person is on our side. We don't want to be involved with someone who will misuse or abuse our story (through gossip, for instance), but who will remain on our side, perhaps despite our story.

From personal experience I'd say the speaker touched on an important aspect of our deepest need as people. The promise of prayer -- of Christian prayer -- is that for the sake of Jesus Christ our Savior, a loving Father is ready to listen to you and me; as God listens, we may be assured that God is on our side all the way. This is the promise of prayer.