1 Kings 18:24, 37 And call ye on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the Lord, and the God that answereth by fire, let him be God. And all the people answered and said, It is well spoken….Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the Lord God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again.
At Elijah’s famous duel between God and Baal, both the priests of Baal and the prophet of the Lord were to call upon the name of their respective gods. Whichever one answered by fire would be God. Let God be God, and the people would worship that one.
The priests of Baal cried, wailed, and cut themselves all day long, pleading for Baal to send fire. But their antics were to no avail: Baal was not god, and he could do nothing in response to their pleas. Elijah prayed once, calling on the name of the Lord: “Hear me, O Lord.” The Lord heard his simple, believing prayer and answered with fire.
A simple prayer in Jesus’ name is all that is necessary in time of need. Call on the name. Badgering, cajoling, repeating, begging, pleading, promising, even cutting yourself to show God how sincere you are, does not move a false god to answer our prayer. Neither suffering nor promising to be good nor repetition will make God hear your prayer; only the blood of His Son moves the Lord to hear. And, of course, we must pray to the right God, the God who has revealed Himself to us in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. We pray by faith in His name. God hears because Jesus is good, not because we are good.