Does God Hear the Prayer of a Sinner?

We also read in Matthew 13:53-58 that when Jesus was teaching in the synagogue in his hometown, many people who were familiar with his upbringing and his earthly family did not believe him.

Instead, they took “offense at him,” and Scripture tells us that Jesus “did not do many mighty works there, because of their unbelief.”

Considering these verses, it is clear that God, who hears all things, will hear the prayers of an unrighteous person, but because he knows their hearts will choose not to listen to it or answer it unless it is a prayer of faith.

This is because none of our prayers get God’s attention on their own anyway. We always need a mediator. Thankfully we have one in Jesus Christ! (1 Timothy 2:5).

Jesus’ model prayer in Matthew 6 helps shed light on this. In this key passage, since Jesus said to start off our prayer with “Our Father…”, we already know that he is teaching his followers (not the lost) how to pray.

A pastor named Gary George says that only a believer who has “received the spirit of adoption” can call God their father “honestly, sincerely, and genuinely.” Jesus also said to pray that God’s will would be done.

If a lost person prays for God’s will to be done in their life, and that prayer is a prayer of surrender of their own will (which we sometimes call the “sinner’s prayer,” then God will hear that prayer.

One example of a faith-filled prayer is what John describes in 1 John 1:9 when he writes: “if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

At the same time, just because someone is a Christian still doesn’t mean that their prayer will be listened to or answered. Jesus taught in that same model prayer that if we pray hypocritically, we will not receive a “reward” from God (the reward would be whatever we prayed for).

He also said that empty phrases and “vain repetition” would not help us be heard either. Instead, As Gary George also said, “That's not to say that even the prayers of Christians are always heard… because God can supersede what we think and trump it the way he wants to….”

James expresses this idea in his book, too, when he wrote: “you ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions [or lusts]” (James 4:3). The Psalmist even recognized: “if I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened” (Psalm 66:18).

As another author wrote, God does not answer the prayers of people whose “requests and demands… are not through the sanctifying work of the sacrifice on the cross, nor are they being humbly subject to the will of God.”

I would like to focus not on the times that God does not listen to our prayers but on the times that he does. After the flood, Noah’s sacrifice in faith was a “sweet” smell to God’s nostrils (Genesis 8:21).

“Sweet-smelling” means that it is an attractive and pleasant aroma. God promises that our offerings of worship and prayer can be the same if they are offered in faith as well.

Not only that, but God also promises that our prayers can be answered and what we pray for can be accomplished. James 5:16 says, "The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much."

God loves when his children come to him in prayer. He loves listening to us, and he loves answering us. He even knows what we need before we ask for it! So do not hold back and do not hesitate to go to Jesus in prayer. If we will “draw near” to Him, then “he will draw near to you (James 4:8).

For further reading:

What Is the Sinner’s Prayer?

What Is Sin? Bible Meaning and How to Overcome

Is ‘Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God’ Biblical?

Photo Credit: ©iStock/Getty Images Plus/FG Trade Latin

Robert Hampshire is a pastor, teacher, writer, and leader. He has been married to Rebecca since 2008 and has three children, Brooklyn, Bryson, and Abram. Robert attended North Greenville University in South Carolina for his undergraduate and Liberty University in Virginia for his Masters. He has served in a variety of roles as a worship pastor, youth pastor, family pastor, church planter, and now Pastor of Worship and Discipleship at Cheraw First Baptist Church in South Carolina. He furthers his ministry through his blog site, Faithful Thinking, and his YouTube channel. His life goal is to serve God and His Church by reaching the lost with the gospel, making devoted disciples, equipping and empowering others to go further in their faith and calling, and leading a culture of multiplication for the glory of God. Find out more about him here.

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