God desires to hear our prayers

Why is prayer so important? Doesn’t God know what I need?
A holy friend shared with me a daily reflection about prayer. It caught my attention like a splash of ice water in my face.
“When I don’t ask for what I need, I treat God as my servant,” Fr. James Swanson, LC, said on regnumchristi.org.
Wow, that is alarming! I was mortified at the thought of treating God like a servant. I am His servant. He is Christ the King! We are told very clearly in each of the Gospels that if we ASK, knock, seek in prayer, our prayers will be answered! Here are just a few examples:
“Whatever you ask for in prayer with faith, you will receive.” – Matthew 21:22
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” – Matthew 7:7
“Therefore I tell you, all that you ask for in prayer, believe that you will receive it and it shall be yours.” – Mark 11:24
“And I tell you, ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.” – Luke 11:9-10
“And whatever you ask in my name, I will do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.” – John 14:13
“If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask for whatever you want and it will be done for you.” – John 15:7
God loves us so much that He wants to hear from us personally in prayer. He wants us to trust Him enough to give our problems to Him.
The more I reflected on prayer as a part of stewardship, the more clearly I see how every aspect of stewardship could be explained in a similar way. Just as it is lazy and arrogant to assume that God knows what we need, it is rude to ignore the gifts and talents He so generously entrusted to us. It is our responsibility as good Christian stewards to use these gifts and talents to serve Him.
If you find it difficult to commit to time in prayer, start with the Lord’s Prayer. It has a way of opening the door to a conversation with God.
­­ — Shannon Roh is the Executive Director of the Office of Development and Stewardship for the Archdiocese of Mobile.