Is God a power or personality? Does prayer get heard by power and personality?

My humble views on the above query which is on the lines of a private query I got recently:

At a paramaarthika sathyam level, there is only Brahman, which is a formless power or force or presence (and not a personality). At a vyavaharika sathyam level, divinity takes form like Rama, Krishna and Sai Baba. Prayer is heard and understood by divinity in form of Rama/Krishna/Sai Baba as well as by formless Brahman.

Some quotes about paramaarthika and vyavaharika sathyam are given below.

From Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba's divine discourse on 21st July 1996, http://www.sssbpt.info/ssspeaks/volume29/d960721.pdf:

There are three aspects of this Divinity: paramarthika, vyavaharika, and pratibhasika (absolutely real, empirical and illusory). These three are not different from each other. The same Divinity is present in all three. There can be no waves without water, and there can be no froth without waves. The waves are the basis of froth, and water is the basis of waves. Water is the same in all the three — ocean, waves and froth. Similarly, the same Divinity is present in paramarthika, vyavaharika, and pratibhasika.

--- end extract from Bhagavan discourse ---

...

Here's an explanation of Adi Shankara's commentary on an Upanishad shloka (verse), http://www.advaita-vedanta.org/archives/advaita-l/2010-February/023740.html. A related extract from it:

While commenting on the mantra सत्यं च अनृतं च सत्यमभवत् ''satyam cha anRtam cha Satyam abhavat' (Taittiriya Up. II.6) Sri Shankaracharya says: satyam = vyavaharavishayam since this is being mentioned in the context of 'sRishti' of the world. He adds: this is not paramArthasatyam (absolute reality) since Brahman alone indeed is paramArtha satyam. This vyavaharavishayam satyam is only Apekshikam, relative, empirical. He explains: when compared to the water in a mirage, the water (that we actually use for drinking, etc.) is real. This is what is meant by

'vyavaharika satyam'. That which is not thus real is anRtam, unreal.

सत्यं च व्यवहारविषयम्, अधिकारात्, न परमार्थसत्यम्; एकमेव हि

परमार्थसत्यं ब्रह्म । इह पुनः व्यवहारविषयमापेक्षिकं

मृगतृष्णिकाद्यनृतापेक्षया उदकादि सत्यमित्युच्यते । अनृतं च तद्विपरीतम्

। किं पुनरेतत् सर्वं सत्यमभवत् परमार्थसत्यम् ।

//satyam cha vyavahaaraviShayam, adhikArAt, na paramaarthasatyam; ekameva hi

paramaarthasatyam Brahma. iha punaH vyavahaaraviShayamaapekShikam

mRgatRShNikAdyanRtaapekShayA udakAdi satyamucyate. anRutam cha tadvipareetam.

kim punaretat sarvam satyamabhavat paramArthasatyam...//

The above bhashyam [commentary] brings to the fore that three types of 'reality' are admitted in the Shruti. Commonly these are known as:

1. PAramArthika Satyam which is Brahman alone,

2. vyAvahArika satyam which constitutes the common world experience of samsara and

3. prAtibhAsika satyam which is a seeming reality, actually within the samsaaric experience. This seeming reality of say, the mirage-water or rope-snake, is corrected in the vyavahara itself and does not require Brahma jnanam for this.

The vyvahaarika satyam, of course, gets corrected upon the rise of Brahma jnAnam.

--- end extract ---

[I thank sssbpt.info and advaita-vedanta.org and have presumed that they will not have any objections to me sharing the above small extract(s) from their website on this post which is freely viewable by all, and does not have any financial profit motive whatsoever.]