Dialogue, a conversation between two or more people, is necessary between lenders and borrowers, spouses in marriage, and prayer to God. 

The "daily bread" of dialogue is especially important in prayer, Deacon Greg Lambert of St. Lawrence Catholic Church in Tampa, said in a column published in the church's Aug. 16 bulletin.

"In prayer, we dialogue with God," Lambert said in the column titled The Importance of Dialogue in Relationships. "We express what is on our minds and hearts, and God answers."

A certain "period of latency" often characterizes God's response in prayer-based dialogue, Lambert continued.

"In addition, God's answer might involve the challenge of understanding a 'language' not readily comprehensible at first," he said. "We speak within the constraints of temporal conditions, while God responds with no restrictions. The answer to our prayers, therefore, often comes at a time and place we least expect."

Mode of transmission in prayer-based dialogue can also be unpredictable. 

"Sometimes, in our prayers of petition, it seems as though we are not being heard," Lambert said. "In reality, the request itself might need modification."

Lambert referred to a passage in James 4:2 as an example of how a request may need adjustment.

"St. James sheds light on how our prayers might not be answered according to our expectations: 'You desire and do not have; so you kill," Lambert said. "And you covet and cannot obtain; so you fight and wage war. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.'"

Lambert recommended considering whether "asking wrongly" might be behind a prayer that seems to go unanswered.

"Even if we get past obstacles in our requests, further refinement may be required," Lambert said. "This refinement can only be brought about through the process of dialogue."