Phenomenology of Prayer- Kendall

 In the introduction of Phenomenology of Prayer, the statement "without prayer, religious sensibility would likely atrophy and die" is intriguing to me. I believe that prayer connects us with God, as it is our human way of communicating with him, however I do have some questions about prayer. I believe that God hears us and our prayers, but how come sometimes (most of the time) it seems like He doesn't answer us? Is it because we aren't listening or because we don't know how to listen? I am confused on how to listen for Him. I do see Him working in my life and in others, but communication is something I struggle with a lot, and to me it doesn't seem like He talks back to me. I believe that we need prayer to have a way to communicate with God, but I also believe that God has different ways of communicating with us.