The weekday Amidah begins with 3 prayers of praise, and continues with 13 prayers of petition. The 3 remaining blessings are prayers of thanksgiving.
This 16th blessing is the last of the prayers of petition. Paradoxically, we pray that G-d will hear our prayers. This expresses a tension so acute that the theme is repeated no less than four times in four sentences.
What do we learn from this? That our rabbinic ancestors were just as unsure as we are on the question of the efficacy of prayer. Does it really help? Does G-d really hear us at all? Much less do what we ask of Him/Her? A careful reading of this prayer reveals the different levels of our anxiety, and the transition from doubt to certitude.
It starts, “Hear our voice…” We all know how painful it is not be listened to. Just to be heard at all is a relief unto itself. No matter what answer we receive.
Then: “Have pity and mercy…because You are a G-d who hears prayers and supplications.” Not only is it in Your nature to hear us, but it is in Your nature to respond with pity and mercy.
This is followed with “Don’t turn us away empty-handed…because You hear the prayers of Your people Israel in mercy.” Bringing Israel into the picture explicitly adds a new dimension to the discourse. You, G-d, may not be all that interested in my prayers personally. But I am a part of the people of Israel, and You have a unique relationship to my/Your people. So if not for my personal sake, do it for Israel’s sake: “hear the prayers of Your people Israel in mercy.”
Finally, the prayer comes to a conclusion striking in its firmness and surprising in its certitude: “Blessed are you, G-d, Who hears prayer.”
If only we could be so sure right from the start. But we can’t. Hence the sophisticated unfolding of the prayer.