Prayer

I got this today in a Daily Gems email

A Child's Instruction on Prayer

"When my son Daniel was six years old, he saw that I was worried because I had to attend a stake conference. I was unsure about what to teach the Saints. He came up to me and said, "Daddy, that's really easy."
That's how children see everything.
"Let's see, Son," I told him. "Since it's easy, tell me what I can talk to them about."
"Talk to them about prayer," he told me. "That's a good subject," I told him, "butthey've heard a lot of talks about prayer; what could I tell them that's new?"
"That's easy too, Daddy. First tell them, 'Before you start to talk to Heavenly Father, think about thethings you want to tell Him.' "
"That sounds like a magnificent idea," I replied. "And then?"
"'Well, once you've thought of it, tell it to Him! When you finish, wait and see if He has something to tell you.' So, through our prayers,the Spirit speaks to our spirit and testifies to us of the reality of our Savior."

I know someone that is dealing with a difficult situation and has to make a hard decision. He's asked those who believe in the same god as him to pray for him.
This is confusing to me. We all belong to the same God, whether people acknowledge it or not and whether we all think He has the same traits or not. He hears all of His children's prayers. He listens to each of them. He answers each of them. Why would someone think that He would not hear one of His children's prayers because one is not clear on His exact qualities? This person does not understand the fatherly atributes that God our father has perfected.
I also think it's sad that this person doesn't understand personal revelation, and that as patriarch of his home he is promised the blessing of being able to receive revelation for his family.