Give ear to my words, O LORD, consider my meditation. Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my God: for unto thee will I pray.
(Psalms 5:1-2 KJV)
One of the most recurring themes in the psalms is the request that God would pay attention to the one praying, that God would hear them, hear their cry, etc. It occurs over and over again in various formulations throughout the psalms. Might God be trying to tell us something? When was the last time you prayed and began with a request for God to actually hear you?
Keep in mind, prayer is not for God's benefit. God knows what we need before we ever ask. So why pray? Obviously prayer is for our benefit. It does something to us more than anything else. Namely, it helps put us into the right spiritual state for God to operate in and through us. God does what he does, but he uses means or methods to get the job done. And one of those methods is prayer.
Our prayer.
And when we see repeatedly in the scripture, in the psalms, which were given for our instruction and admonition, when we repeatedly see the petitioner specifically requesting audience with the great King of the Universe, combined with a bold confidence that he has obtained audience with the King, perhaps we should learn something from that...
LORD, I cry unto thee: make haste unto me; give ear unto my voice, when I cry unto thee. Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense; and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.
(Psalms 141:1-2 KJV)
Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O LORD. Lord, hear my voice: let thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications.
(Psalms 130:1-2 KJV)
In thee, O LORD, do I put my trust; let me never be ashamed: deliver me in thy righteousness. Bow down thine ear to me; deliver me speedily: be thou my strong rock, for an house of defence to save me.
(Psalms 31:1-2 KJV)