Does God hear the prayers of the unbelievers? Will He answer prayer requests of the unsaved? If someone is not a Christian, will God still answer their prayer? Is there any hope for God answering prayers for those who don’t believe in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior?
Praying in God’s Will
It is clear from scripture that God not only hears prayers of His saints, but that He also answers their prayers. God says to Christians that He will listen to your prayers. He will also answer your prayers. In fact, God tells the believer that they can come to His heavenly throne boldly and ask Him for help (Hebrews 4:16). But our prayers must be in alliance with God’s own, perfect will (Matt. 26:39). Sometimes the answer is no, at other times the answer is different from what we ask for because He knows what we need better than we do. What we want and what we need is not the same thing.
God Hears and Answers the Believers
Luke 11:9-10 says that if it is His will we can “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.” Further, in Psalm 34:17 He says “The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles.” In fact God tells His people to pour out our hearts to him, for God is our refuge (Psalm 62:8).
When God Doesn’t Answer a Christian’s Prayer
God will not answer the prayers of believers if they are living in unrepentant sin or fail to forgive others. Matthew 6:12, 14-15 makes it plain that even a Christian’s prayer may not be heard as Jesus testifies by saying that we are to “…forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” Therefore, a believer that is living in sin or fails to forgive others has their prayers blocked since they are out of fellowship with the Father. They will never lose their relationships but continual sin can affect their fellowship. If my children continue to be willfully disobedient, they must understand that I am not going to grant their requests since they are not doing what I ask them to do. God will never answer the prayer of a Christian while they are regarding sin in their heart (Psalm 66:18).
Does God Hear Unbeliever’s Prayers?
Now let’s answer the question as to whether it does any good for someone who is not a Christian to pray to God and expect Him to hear and answer their prayers. The Bible clearly says that God will not answer prayer requests of those who are not saved nor will He even listen to their prayers (John 9:31). Believers have had their sins forgiven but those who are not Christian are separated from God by their sin (Isaiah 59:2). I Peter 3:12 plainly says that God will hear a believer’s prayer but not those of the unsaved: “For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”
Proverbs 1:26-29 speaks to everyone who does not believe in Him and gives a warning for those who don’t that “…when disaster strikes you; I will mock when calamity overtakes you— when calamity overtakes you like a storm, when disaster sweeps over you like a whirlwind, when distress and trouble overwhelm you. Then they will call to me but I will not answer; they will look for me but will not find me, since they hated knowledge and did not choose to fear the LORD.”
How Can You Be Heard By God Today?
With all the natural disasters in the world today, He is asking you today to come to Him and accept Jesus Christ as Lord. Then He will hear and answer your prayer. You can know for sure that your prayers make it to His ears and that He will answer you. Psalm 17:6 gives you all the reassurance you need if you become a child of His that He will hear and He will answer your prayers: “I call on you, O God, for you will answer me; give ear to me and hear my prayer.” It is my hope and prayer that you will become a child of His today:
Admit you are a sinner and you are in need of forgiveness and that you repent of your own way.
Believe that Jesus Christ is the One and Only way and that He died for your sins and was raised from the dead.
Confess with your mouth and from your heart that Jesus is Lord and Savior and confess Him to others who are lost.
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