Does God answer the prayers of unbelievers?
August 29th, 2008
Today’s article comes from the “Issues & Answers” resource section at Grace to You’s website.
God is sovereign and can choose to answer any prayer He sees fit. But Scripture clearly indicates that God does not listen to or answer every prayer. In fact, Scripture gives at least fifteen reasons for unanswered prayer. God does not answer the prayer of those:
1. Who have personal and selfish motives.
You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures (James 4:3).
2. Who regard iniquity in their hearts.
If I regard iniquity in my heart, The Lord will not hear (Psalm 66:18).
3. Who remain in sin.
But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear (Isaiah 59:2).
Now we know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does His will, He hears him (John 9:31).
4. Who offer unworthy service to God.
“You are presenting defiled food upon My altar. But you say, ‘How have we defiled You?’ In that you say, ‘The table of the LORD is to be despised.’ But when you present the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? And when you present the lame and sick, is it not evil? Why not offer it to your governor? Would he be pleased with you? Or would he receive you kindly?” says the LORD of hosts. “But now will you not entreat God’s favor, that He may be gracious to us? With such an offering on your part, will He receive any of you kindly?” says the LORD of hosts.
5. Who forsake God.
Thus says the Lord to this people: “Thus they have loved to wander; They have not restrained their feet. Therefore the Lord does not accept them; He will remember their iniquity now, And punish their sins.” Then the Lord said to me, “Do not pray for this people, for their good. When they fast, I will not hear their cry; and when they offer burnt offering and grain offering, I will not accept them. But I will consume them by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence (Jeremiah 14:10-12).
6. Who reject God’s call.
Because I [Wisdom] have called and you refused, I have stretched out my hand and no one regarded, Because you disdained all my counsel, And would have none of my rebuke…. Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; They will seek me diligently, but they will not find me (Proverbs 1:24-25, 28).
7. Who will not heed God’s law.
One who turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer is an abomination (Proverbs 28:9).
“But they refused to heed, shrugged their shoulders, and stopped their ears so that they could not hear. Yes, they made their hearts like flint, refusing to hear the law and the words which the Lord of hosts had sent by His Spirit through the former prophets. Thus great wrath came from the Lord of hosts. Therefore it happened, that just as He proclaimed and they would not hear, so they called out and I would not listen,” says the Lord of hosts. (Zechariah 7:11-13).
8. Who turn a deaf ear to the cry of the poor.
Whoever shuts his ears to the cry of the poor, Will also cry himself and not be heard. (Proverbs 21:13).
9. Who are violent.
When you spread out your hands, I will hide My eyes from you; Even though you make many prayers, I will not hear. Your hands are full of blood (Isaiah 1:15; see also 59:2-3).
10. Who worship idols.
Therefore thus says the Lord: “Behold, I will surely bring calamity on them which they will not be able to escape; and though they cry out to Me, I will not listen to them. Then the cities of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem will go and cry out to the gods to whom they offer incense, but they will not save them at all in the time of their trouble. For according to the number of your cities were your gods, O Judah; and according to the number of the streets of Jerusalem you have set up altars to that shameful thing, altars to burn incense to Baal. So do not pray for this people, or lift up a cry or prayer for them; for I will not hear them in the time that they cry out to Me because of their trouble.” (Jeremiah 11:11-14; see also Ezekiel 8:15-18).
11. Who have no faith.
But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord (James 1:6-7).
12. Who are living in hypocrisy.
Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy (Luke 12:1).
13. Who are proud of heart.
God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble (James 4:6; 1 Peter 5:5).
14. Who are self-righteous.
The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, “God, I thank You that I am not like other men-extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.” And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, “God, be merciful to me a sinner!” I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted (Luke 18:11-14).
15. Who mistreat God’s people.
You have also given me the necks of my enemies, So that I destroyed those who hated me. They cried out, but there was none to save; Even to the Lord, but He did not answer them (Psalm 18:40-41).
You who hate good and love evil; Who strip the skin from My people, And the flesh from their bones; Who also eat the flesh of My people, Flay their skin from them, Break their bones, And chop them in pieces, Like meat for the pot, Like flesh in the caldron. Then they will cry to the Lord, But He will not hear them; He will even hide His face from them at that time, Because they have been evil in their deeds (Micah 3:2-4).
So, does God answer the prayers of unbelievers? A strict yes or no answer is difficult without qualifying the answer in various ways. However, it is noteworthy that the above mentioned principles represent some of the key characteristics of an unbeliever. Thus we can safely say that, in general, God does not answer the prayers of an unbeliever.
Given the list that Dr. MacArthur presents here, there’s none of us who aren’t “disqualified” from having our prayers answered by God. To argue that we aren’t disqualfied from having our prayers answered, conversely seems to be saying that we somehow then deserve to have them answered, which couldn’t be more false.
Patrick
http://www.theologyofomaha.com
Patrick said:
“To argue that we aren’t disqualfied from having our prayers answered, conversely seems to be saying that we somehow then deserve to have them answered, which couldn’t be more false.”
To be NOT disqualified does not necessitate being QUALIFIED and thus DESERVING ANYTHING GOOD by necessity.
Rather the conept of mercy and grace remains one of NO MERRIT on the part of the human; but of Him who wills; whom is the LORD and wills according with His good pleasure and Sovereign will, whether that human seeks general grace or is a in praticular salvific grace emploring the LORD for mercy.
To be sure the LORD remains Sovereign to both and He does have General care, mercy, compassion,longsuffering and care for ALL His creation.
Yet, there is a grace which is particular ONLY to His elect which He reserves the right to pass over the naturally sin stained creature; to do His will of justice rather than mercy; as He sees fit…
BUT which creature knows for certain the election of any OTHER creature? Do we claim to know the heart of a man? Indeed we can not; that remains for the LORD. He alone knows the heart of a man perfectly and He alone can give confidence of election to an individual, through His Spirit.
So it stands that we MUST seek Him, while He may be found (This being a COMMAND of the LAW, to LOVE the LORD with ALL…), in His General grace and especially in His Particular Redemptive grace. After all we are made to glorify, honor, worship, seek and obey Him for His own sake.
Deuteronomy 6:5; Matthew 22:37; Mark 12:30; Luke 10:27
“You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.”
Deuteronomy 10:12-13
““And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God REQUIRE of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, to serve the LORD your God with ALL your heart and with ALL your soul, and to keep the commandments of the LORD and His statutes which I command you today for your good?”
Matthew 5:44-46
“But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; FOR HE MAKES HIS SUN RISE ON THE EVIL AND ON THE GOOD, AND SENDS RAIN ON THE JUST AND THE UNJUST. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?”
Hebrews 4:16
“Let us therefore come BOLDLY to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
Matthew 9:13
“But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire MERCY and not sacrifice.’ For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.””
Ephesians 1:9
“…having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself…”
Philippians 2:13
“…for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.”
Isaiah 55:6
“Seek the LORD while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near.”
———————
I fully agree that the ATTITUDE and DESIRE of the heart is what the LORD looks upon when He wills to answer or pass over a prayer’s request.
If sinful motives are at the root of a prayer then we can rest assured that the prayer WILL NOT be answered positively.
Yet when the prayer is in the name of Christ Jesus (In line with His will, desire and commandments, He will answer it in accord with His will, desire and commandment.
Thus prayer is NEVER answered because WE MERRIT an answer; but because it is in line with the Devine Will of God our Father, the Son and Holy Spirit.
May His grace, mercy and compassion abound through and in us, to Hsi glory and in His will
A prayer-less Christian is a contradiction in terms. Just as a still-born child is a dead one, so a professing believer who does not pray is devoid of spiritual life. Prayer is the breath of our new nature as a saint in Christ, the same as the Word of God; the Holy Bible is our food.
We can only profit from the Holy Scriptures when we are brought to the realization of the deep importance of prayer. I am afraid that many present-day Christian readers and students of the Bible have no deep convictions that a definite prayer-life is absolutely essential for our daily walking and communing with God.
Prayer is for the deliverance from the power of indwelling sin in our lives, the luring and temptations and seductions of this world, and also for the release from the assaults of Satan. How can we send our children to school without praying for them first? If we don’t pray for them who will? Is your marriage about to fall apart? Why have you not prayed to our Father about it? Are you having trouble at work with your boss or are you facing a possible layoff? How can you not pray for help?
The only prayer the God hears from a sinner is the prayer for Salvation. And the only true prayer for Salvation from a sinner is of the Holy Spirit’s drawing them to Jesus Christ. Because the only way to the Father is through Jesus Christ.
I agree that what God looks at is our hearts. He knows each and evey one of us better than we know ourselves.
My point to ponder is this. Does God ask of us what he himself would not do?
Matthew 5:44-46
“But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; FOR HE MAKES HIS SUN RISE ON THE EVIL AND ON THE GOOD, AND SENDS RAIN ON THE JUST AND THE UNJUST. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?”
11. Who have no faith.
But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord (James 1:6-7).
If you read what James is talikng about you’ll see that this is taken slightly out of context, as James is talking about one kind of prayer – asking God for wisdom. So this does not apply to anything else. The reason he talks about faith is that v5 says:
“If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.”
So, there’s a promise from God here, so lack of faith in this issue is denying what God says throuh James about Himself. This passage is actually a positive, not a negative. It’s saying, when you’re in a situation where you know you need God’s wisdom, it’s guaranteed. To doubt is calling God a liar. James is writing to believers.
Jesus guarantees to answer a certain kind of prayer – more than that, He says “I will do it”, in John 14:13-14.(Again, He’s talking to believers). He says “ask in my name”. It’s important to understand this, or you will just tag on “in your name” to any prayer, and when it’s not even answered, you may well start to doubt God. “In Jesus’ name” means to pray for the kinds of things that He prayed for while He was on the earth, or to pray for the kind of work that He is at the centre of. These sorts of prayers He guarantees not just to answer, but to do what we ask. To explain a bit more, it’s like an ambassador for a government – when they go to a foreign country to speak in the name of the government they represent, they’re speaking ‘in the name’ of the President or Prime Minister etc. This means they’ll be saying the same things that the President/prime minister would be saying if they were there in person.
To pray like this involves getting to know Jesus more and more.
This is not to say we can’t pray about anything else, it just means that with many other requests, God doesn’t guarantee to answer us, so we shouldn’t act like He is our servant.
It’s good to know that the almighty God make promises to us that He always keeps.
Also, Ramon says that the only prayer God hears from an unbeliever is the prayer for salvation. I think that’s telling God what He’s allowed to do. I agree that the prayer for salvation is probably the only prayer from an unbeliever that God guarantees to answer, but He has the choice to answer when He chooses. I know people who’s testimonies have been that God answered prayer for them well before they became one of His children, and that this was part of their journey to salvation. Be careful not to put limits on God unless He specifically says it Himself.
I have had a question from my mailing list which is quite valid:
“Unfortunately most Christians fail in one or more (if not all) of these areas! Does that mean God won’t answer any prayers?”
Hence I would like to add this Scriptural instruction regarding our prayer MOTIVE and ATTITUDE in prayer, which relates to our CONFIDENCE in WHY AND HOW prayers WILL be answered.
1 John 5:14
“Now this is the CONFIDENCE that we have in Him, that if we ask anything ACCORDING TO His WILL, He HEARS US.”
I trust that you all have been blessed of the LORD on the LORD’s day with all love among the brethren, serving our King for His glory in truth, love and deed. What a privildge it is to be able to fellowship with the saints!
Let us be bold and speak the truth in love to the spiritually dead, that the Spirit may awaken them unto eternal live and love for our Father.
I agree with brother Ramon;
If the sinner does not pray ACCORDING WITH THE REVEALED WILL of God; his/her prayer is without FAITH and hence dead in sin.
The first prayer of Faith is that given by the awkeing of the Spirit of Truth and Grace, that of REPENTANCE, OBEDIENCE and LOVE for the glory of the LORD Himself.
Prayer is NOT about us; it is about our Father and His will and purposes for His own glory.
Sola Gratia! Soli Deo Gloria!
It is ALL about Him and we joyfully and most willingly (By grace alone) submit ourselves in prayer to His service, seeking the redemption of many lost sinners to His glory and praise.
Well, at least you said “in general” and not categorically that He doesn’t answer them, since there are plenty of examples (Ahab,Manasseh, etc) and Bible principles (grace, for ex) to back up the opposite position.
For all the discussion about who is deserving of having their prayers answered, didn’t Augustine (or someone eqaully significant) say that there was enough sin in his prayer of repentance to damn the whole world?
It’s not coincidental that the list of 15 really are descriptors of non-believers.
Don’t don’t forget the imputation of Christ’s righteousness to our account in determining whether or not we can expect God to hear our prayers. In the same way, my kid can ask with all the wrong motives (even if he’s trying to behave himself) and get an answer while the angelic kid-next-door won’t even get a hearing no matter his motives.
That doesn’t get us believers off the hook when we pray but it gives us reason to be cautious and confident simultaneously when we pray.
Point four (“Who offer unworthy service to God.”) should be referenced as Mal. 1:6-10
Mr. Phipps,
I just thought I’d tell you that as I began to read the words, He says “ask in my name”. It’s important to understand this, or you will just tag on “in your name” to any prayer, and when it’s not even answered, you may well start to doubt God. “In Jesus’ name” means… I began to laugh and shake my head – not at you, but in appreciation for yet another demonstration of His wonderful faithfulness.
You see, I’ve been having some issues with this lately, some questions, and yesterday as I walked down the little dirt road back to my house after my jog and prayed to God, I asked Him that very question: “Am I praying to the Father, am I praying to the Son, am I missing Jesus in all this by simply praying in His name? If I forget that phrase, you know I meant it, don’t you? I’m sorry I missed this little concept, but I’m not sure I get how this works.”
He has been tremendous in His provision of the answers to my questions. I prayed about the concept of denying myself and taking up my cross on Saturday night, and on Sunday there was a message on it and on Monday I “bumped into” a video clip of Dr. MacArthur’s discussion of Salvation through Jesus Christ where he talks about that very thing. It’s one thing to *kind of* know these things on an intellectual level, it’s another thing to know them on a practical level.
And so, Mr. Phipps, today I “just happened” to look at the comments on this article and there was a simple comment of yours that began to answer my question – and only offered further proof that our patient, merciful, just God is just as faithful as He promises to be. Thank you.
When I state that every prayer presented in the Name of Jesus will be answered, I am not saying that God will override the individual will of a person just to answer your prayers. No! God cannot and will not save any person against their own will; however He will convict a person by the Holy Spirit of their sinning in opposition to His will.
Perhaps two examples will help you understand what I mean when I talk of an immortal prayer. The first example is about a man who came to the altar one night during a camp meeting, weeping in deep conviction of sin. After a period of earnest prayer, he was converted and gave this amazing testimony. His father had been a faithful preacher for many years and had repeatedly prayed throughout those years for him, his unsaved son. His father did not live to see his son saved, however at this particular camp meeting and on this exact night, the loving Lord Jesus answered the father’s prayers and saved his wrecked son. This all happened years after the faithful servant of God had died and gone to heaven. Amazing love!
The second example is about Moses, the man who led the children of Israel to the Promised Land. If you remember the story, Moses had been in the wilderness for 40 years and had witnessed the mighty hand of God throughout that whole journey from Egypt. His prayer was to get all the children of Israel, including himself into the Promised Land safely. But Moses got mad at the people of Israel and hurt his testimony before God by his words and actions. God therefore would not allow Moses to enter the Promised Land. God did however allow Moses to see it from a mountain top, and then he went to be with the Lord.
Several hundred years later at a different mountain in the Promised Land, when Jesus and three of His chosen disciples were on the high mountain of Transfiguration; who was seen with Jesus? There were two other men with Jesus and one of them was Moses, in the Promised Land.
Answered prayer is never on our time frame or in or way of things; but the One how owns eternity and time will answer your prayers according to His will and way.
Ramon, God can can choose whomever He will whenever He will. What on earth do you think Paul was doing when Jesus confronted him? Do you really think Saul had much of a choice? Do you not think God can change our will if He wants to? He changes the minds of Kings.