Why should God receive our prayers willingly? The words of this blessing answer the question: “Because You are a Divine Power who hears prayers and supplications.” In other words, this is who You are and this is what You do. Here is an opportunity for You to manifest Your presence in our lives, which is the purpose of creation. There is a distinct tone of humility here because we are saying, “We have no reason for You to listen to our prayer for our own sake, but please do it for Your sake.” However, we then confidently continue and demand: And don’t send us away empty-handed from You, our King, because You listen to the prayers of Your nation Israel with compassion.” In other words, “God, You are our King and, therefore, as Your royal subjects we are important to You. If You send us away empty-handed, it will appear as if You don’t care about Your own kingdom, which will reflect poorly back on You.” We are not asking that our prayers be answered for our sake. Rather, we want God to answer our prayers for His sake. We are praying for Him to listen to us and accept our prayers, so that He can be who He is—a compassionate King who shows the world that He indeed cares about and hears His nation. It doesn’t matter to us if God responds to our particular requests because we know that what we are specifically asking for may not be what we need or are ready for right now.