The prayer begins, “Listen to our voice.” This statement sounds like a demand. To say to God “Listen to our voice” is quite assertive. We are telling God, “Regardless of what I say, listen to me. My voice should be enough for You to give me Your attention.” This is indeed a bold statement. After all, it is difficult to imagine that our little voice holds any significance to God. And yet this prayer reminds us that it does—because God loves us. We can liken this to the story in the Book of Genesis when God says to Avraham, “Listen to the voice of your wife.” The Midrash explains that Sarah had greater ruach hakodesh (“Divine intuition”) than Avraham did. In other words, God was telling Avraham, “If your wife voices her opinion, listen to it whether her words make sense to you or not.” In this blessing, we are making the same assertion. We are telling God to listen to us as His beloved children, whether or not we are ready or worthy to receive what we have asked for.