Does God Answer-- All Prayers?

In thinking about prayers, and whether there is such a thing as an unanswered prayer or a prayer that God will not hear, we must go to the scriptures. The answers are there. Consider the following passages, which clearly address this matter. We learn, to begin with, that God will not hear and answer the prayers of the wicked. In Proverbs 15:8 we read, “The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord, but the prayer of the upright is acceptable to him,” and Proverbs 15:29 reads “The Lord is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayer of the righteous.”

Also… we can be assured that if we ever pray in the following ways our prayers will not be answered, “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward” (Matthew 6:5). “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him” (Matthew 6:7-8). “He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up 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, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted” (Luke 18:9-14). 2 Kings 22: 18-19 reads, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Regarding the words that you have heard, because your heart was penitent, and you humbled yourself before the Lord, …………..I also have heard you, declares the Lord.”

There are actually passages that tell us God will not hear certain prayers. Jeremiah 7:16 reads,“As for you, do not pray for this people, or lift up a cry or prayer for them, and do not intercede with me, for I will not hear you.” Jeremiah 11:9-11 reads, “Again the Lord said to me, “A conspiracy exists among the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. They have turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers, who refused to hear my words. They have gone after other gods to serve them. The house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken my covenant that I made with their fathers. Therefore, thus says the Lord, Behold, I am bringing disaster upon them that they cannot escape. Though they cry to me, I will not listen to them.” Isaiah 1:15 reads, When you spread out your hands I will hide my eyes from you; even though you make many prayers I will not listen.”

Other than the prayer of a repentant sinner, the prayers of the righteous are the only prayers God chooses to hear and answer. The only One who is truly righteous, of course, is Christ himself. Thankfully, the bible tells us that Christ intercedes for those who are his. In 1 John 2:1 John writes, “My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous..” Luke 22:31-32 gives us a good example of Christ’s interceding for us when he speaks to Peter before the crucifixion. “And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.” In Romans 8:27 we read that “the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.”

In lieu of this, we must pray according to God’s will, but many times we do not. In James 4:2-3 we read, “You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.” Not only do we ask wrongly, but we also act wrongly-- and that inevitably affects the results of our prayers. Psalm 66:18 reads, “If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.” This verse clearly indicates that the state of our hearts determines whether or not God hears our prayers. 1 Peter 3:7 gives the following admonishment to husbands, “Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.”

We know from scripture that prayers/requests which are not in accord with the Father’s will are not answered in a positive manner. Jesus, the Righteous, prayed in earnest “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done,” (Luke 42:22). The Father’s answer to this request from His Son was clearly NO. In Isaiah 53:9-10 we read, “..although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth. Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him.” We know God had a higher purpose in refusing his own innocent Son the request asked of him. Because of this we should be able to understand that He also has a greater purpose in denying US (sinful as we are) the requests we sometimes make.

Although it is not wrong to pray for things such as health, healing, provisions, etc., we cannot presume upon God to give us what we ask for if any one or all of these things are not according to his purpose and plan for our lives. He knows what is best for us and we must trust him in this. “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope” (Jeremiah 29:11). In this passage God was speaking to people who were going into exile and would spend their whole lives in exile. These plans God had for His people would be fulfilled in a spiritual prospering -which ultimately is in eternity. He is our loving Heavenly Father and he has promised to work through all the circumstances of our lives (whether good or bad) for our good and His glory. We can always trust that God will be true to his word, “This God—his way is perfect; the word of the Lord proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him” (2 Samuel 22:31). May we determine to pray rightly and with a heart that is right before God. Then we can be assured that He will hear and answer our prayers-- according to His will and for our good and His glory.