# Does God hear the prayer of unbelievers?



## teddyrux (Jul 22, 2010)

I've always understood the answer to be no, but I've never researched this until today. I'd like to hear what others think.


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## Andres (Jul 22, 2010)

No. For our prayers to be acceptable to the Father, they must go through our mediator, Christ. Anyone not praying in the name of Christ (which means so much more than saying "in the name of Jesus" at the end), is just speaking empty words that aren't going past the ceiling.


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## earl40 (Jul 22, 2010)

He "hears" them but so far as answering their prayers He may do so in spite of them.

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Andres said:


> No. For our prayers to be acceptable to the Father, they must go through our mediator, Christ. Anyone not praying in the name of Christ (which means so much more than saying "in the name of Jesus" at the end), is just speaking empty words that aren't going past the ceiling.



Good point! The "In the name of Jesus" does bug me most times because it become wrote for many.


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## AThornquist (Jul 22, 2010)

It is only in terrible pride and arrogance that an unregenerate person would try to pray to the true God. Think about it - they are trying to communicate with the Lord without the Mediator Christ, which is to say that they think they are _worthy_ to enter the throne room based on their own merit.

Also, Proverbs 15:29 says: "The Lord is far from the wicked, *but he hears the prayer of the righteous*." Notice the distinction made between the two; the Lord hears the prayer of the righteous, which is _contrasted_ with His relation to the wicked. He is far from them, which I believe is quite relevant to their prayers. Our Father is omniscient and so he hears the unbeliever in a sense; however, he does not heed them.

Proverbs 15:8-9
"*The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD*, but the prayer of the upright is His delight." Again, consider the contrast.

Proverbs 28:9
"*One who turns away his ear from hearing the law, Even his prayer is an abomination.*" Does the unbeliever turn his ear from hearing the law?


So to put everything together: The Lord hears the prayers of the unbeliever in the sense that He is aware of them, but He hates them. He does not hear those prideful prayers in the sense that he does not heed them. He hears and delights in the prayers of the righteous, which no unbeliever is. _Christ_ is our righteousness.


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## Semper Fidelis (Jul 22, 2010)

Of course God hears their prayers but the bigger question is whether their prayers are mediated by Christ.


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## Gesetveemet (Jul 22, 2010)

I hope this thread does not discourage those who feel their lost condition to pray to God for a new heart.




.


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## AThornquist (Jul 22, 2010)

Gesetveemet said:


> I hope this thread does not discourage those who feel their lost condition to pray to God for a new heart.


 

If they truly ask for a new heart, they already have one.


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## Gesetveemet (Jul 22, 2010)

AThornquist said:


> Gesetveemet said:
> 
> 
> > I hope this thread does not discourage those who feel their lost condition to pray to God for a new heart.
> ...




Of coarse and the key word is "truly". Is man commanded to seek God?


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## teddyrux (Jul 22, 2010)

AThornquist said:


> It is only in terrible pride and arrogance that an unregenerate person would try to pray to the true God. Think about it - they are trying to communicate with the Lord without the Mediator Christ, which is to say that they think they are _worthy_ to enter the throne room based on their own merit.
> 
> Also, Proverbs 15:29 says: "The Lord is far from the wicked, *but he hears the prayer of the righteous*." Notice the distinction made between the two; the Lord hears the prayer of the righteous, which is _contrasted_ with His relation to the wicked. He is far from them, which I believe is quite relevant to their prayers. Our Father is omniscient and so he hears the unbeliever in a sense; however, he does not heed them.
> 
> ...


 

"Have you seen how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Because he has humbled himself before me, I will not bring the disaster in his days; but in his son's days I will bring the disaster upon his house." 1 Kings 21:29 This sounds as if God heard the prayers of Ahab. I doubt that any of us would consider him as righteous. How do you reconcile this? There's also: Jonah 3:5-10, and Genesis 21:14-19.


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## AThornquist (Jul 22, 2010)

Gesetveemet said:


> Of coarse and the key word is "truly". Is man commanded to seek God?



Absolutely, man is both commanded and invited to believe the Gospel. Yet man will only be willing to come if he is dragged by God, which is why a called sinner will not be discouraged by God's wrath if he approaches _in Christ_; in such a case, God's wrath and that sinner's pitiful condition ought to make him run faster to the Lord. Apart from the Gospel, these verses *should* discourage the sinner. Christ _alone_ is our hope for access to the Father.



teddyrux said:


> "Have you seen how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Because he has humbled himself before me, I will not bring the disaster in his days; but in his son's days I will bring the disaster upon his house." 1 Kings 21:29 This sounds as if God heard the prayers of Ahab. I doubt that any of us would consider him as righteous. How do you reconcile this? There's also: Jonah 3:5-10, and Genesis 21:14-19.



I'm not sure how the passage in Jonah relates since they believed God and repented, but even so the Lord has mercy on those whom He will have mercy. If some people - even unbelievers - were used as examples of a) God's response to humility and b) His own mercy, that does not reject eventual judgment or what is the normal operation of truth (such as the Proverbs).


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## teddyrux (Jul 22, 2010)

Does God answer the prayers of unbelievers?

Here is what John MacArthur has to say on the subject. The link goes to the full article. This is his conclusion.


> 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


.

Thanks everyone for your input. I've been able to get my thoughts straight on this.


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