Prayer is a Two-Way Conversation.

Kings 19:9b-13
And the word of the LORD came to him: "What are you doing here, Elijah?"
10 He replied, "I have been very zealous for the LORD God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too."
11 The LORD said, "Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by."
Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. 13 When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.
Then a voice said to him, "What are you doing here, Elijah?"

I touched on this a little the other day, but prayer is supposed to be a two-way-conversation. You know the feeling of almost getting bored when someone just rambles their life story to you or what they're going through without any consideration of your presence. It gets annoying. Even though it's good to let someone talk, the reality is that there should be room for you to talk as well in order to keep the relationship alive.

Similarly, we should absolutely talk to God, but we should also be sure to listen for God. He can only really be heard in the quietest times, although personal experiences can vary.

Have you ever heard God speak? Where were you? What exactly did he say to you? If not, start with the advice above. Chances are, you're not going to hear a big audible voice, but you definitely won't notice anything if you don't spend time with him everyday.

We can often miss the voice of God because it doesn’t usually come booming out of the sky like thunder. That's the problem we face. We have to work, go to school, do housework, and keep up with family and friends. I suppose we have about 10-20 minutes for God each day, but most of the time that is filled with reading off our laundry list of prayers to him. He wants you to go to him with your prayers, but don't forget to praise him too. However, sometimes we need to just let God talk to us. Perhaps go outside and lie down; listen to the birds, and let God talk to you.

Elijah had a lot on his mind and desperately wanted to hear the voice of God. Look back in the passage and determine if Elijah heard it. Do you think that’s how he was expecting to hear God?

All in all, life has so much noise and so many distractions: music, the TV, the computer, your siblings, your parents, your cell phone, the dog...in addition to all the work that we must complete. How would we ever hear a gentle whisper in all of that? Work on pausing your normal busy life and find a way to make it possible today.

Create a quiet, private place to pray. Read the Bible, tell God what’s on your mind and wait. Wait in the mere silence for God’s gentle whisper. Give God plenty of time. It might not be today that you hear him, but I promise it will be soon. It might be as simple as a passage standing out to you in the Bible. Whatever you do, don’t rush your time with him.