'Caught Off Guard' Concerning Prayer

A non-believer once explained that prayer is a good thing; it is a way for a person to get things off his/her chest. For the non-believer I suppose you could achieve the same psychological release by talking to your dog, or the fire hydrant your dog is so fond of.

Yet, we know that God is real. Prayer is not just a psychological release. God really listens. But does He always listen???

In John 9:31 someone said, “God does not hear sinners.” Yet, there are examples in Scripture that seem to counter that statement. How do we make sense of the exceptions?

The sinner in John 9:31 is not simply that person whose life is marred by sin, but the one who has turned away from God and who refuses to listen to His instruction. That is also the sense of a proverb of Solomon:

The Lord is far from the wicked, But He hears the prayer of the righteous.
—Proverbs 15:29 (NASB95)

There was an occasion in Israel’s history when they were oppressed by a foreign power. They cried out to God and He all but taunted them with their past. He reminded them that he had delivered them from many foreign enemies and then said…

“Go and cry out to the gods which you have chosen; let them deliver you in the time of your distress.” 

—Judges 10:14

God did not respond with assistance until Israel put away their foreign gods. We should learn that unless we step away from evil and turn toward God, He will not respond favorably.

Jesus taught that when a person prays with wrong motives (to grab attention from other people), he will receive nothing from God. The attention is all he will receive. (Matthew 6:5-6)

Husbands, did you know that the way you treat your wife affects your prayer life? You can actually block your prayers from God’s ears if you do not treat your wife as God expects! (1 Peter 3:7)

Did you know that selfishness gets no response?

You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures. 

—James 4:3

These important Scriptures help us to understand that our prayers can be hindered. The last thing you would want is for God to turn a deaf ear when you are at a critical time of need.

It is important for us to be confident as we approach God in prayer. We need to have confidence that God is listening, that nothing is getting in the way of our prayers.

We know that God IS compassionate. God IS gracious. God IS Love. So, we can approach God with our joys and disappointments. We can approach Him when we have overcome and when we have failed. We can share with Him our anxieties, our dreams and even the simple daily happenings of our mundane lives. He cares.

Yet, God IS holy. God IS mighty. God IS Creator. Man is dust. We must approach God with awe and reverence. We must approach in humility.

But to this one I will look, to him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My word. 

—Isaiah 66:2

Finally, Jesus told a parable about a widow who bothered a judge over and over in order to obtain justice. His purpose in telling the parable was “to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart.” (Luke 18:1)

Do you want God to listen to you? 

Then... 

   Be righteous; 

      Be faithful; 

         Be humble; 

            Be persistent.


Mark Stinnett

September 19, 2021