DOES GOD ALWAYS HEAR MY PRAYERS?
QUESTIONS ABOUT PRAYER
NATURE OF GOD
1 John 5:14-15 And this is the confidence, which we have in Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests, which we have asked from Him.
Isaiah 1:10-15 Hear the word of the Lord, you rulers of Sodom; listen to the instruction of our God, you people of Gomorrah! “The multitude of your sacrifices— what are they to me?” says the Lord. “I have more than enough of burnt offerings, of rams and the fat of fattened animals; I have no pleasure in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats. When you come to appear before me, who has asked this of you, this trampling of my courts? Stop bringing meaningless offerings! Your incense is detestable to me. New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations— I cannot bear your worthless assemblies. Your New Moon feasts and your appointed festivals I hate with all my being. They have become a burden to me. I am weary of bearing them. When you spread out your hands in prayer, I hide my eyes from you; even when you offer many prayers, I am not listening.
Isaiah 1:10-15 Hear the word of the Lord, you rulers of Sodom; listen to the instruction of our God, you people of Gomorrah! “The multitude of your sacrifices— what are they to me?” says the Lord. “I have more than enough of burnt offerings, of rams and the fat of fattened animals; I have no pleasure in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats. When you come to appear before me, who has asked this of you, this trampling of my courts? Stop bringing meaningless offerings! Your incense is detestable to me. New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations— I cannot bear your worthless assemblies. Your New Moon feasts and your appointed festivals I hate with all my being. They have become a burden to me. I am weary of bearing them. When you spread out your hands in prayer, I hide my eyes from you; even when you offer many prayers, I am not listening.
You just read two separate passages back to back which, at first glance, seem to say opposing things. The first says that God hears us, and the second implies that God is not listening. So let’s dig into this complicated question by first looking at the passage in 1 John. Both this passage and the previous passage from Question 3 have something in common. They both speak to the idea that God is eager to hear and respond to the prayers of his children. Prayers do not bother God. God is not annoyed by us. God loves us and he desires to be close to us and in constant communication every day. He desires our communication so much that he gave instructions to the Israelites in the wilderness on how to build a tabernacle so that he could dwell among his people. God still wants this today. He hasn’t changed. He still desires constant, daily connection with people who love him.
These passages also have something in common in that they explain the reasons why God answers prayer. The first reason is so that God may be glorified in the Son. The purpose of God answering prayer is always to advance the kingdom of God. This is what Jesus meant when he said, “If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.” The opposite would be to ask or request something in someone else’s name. This idea is akin to calling on Jesus to help build your own kingdom or to build the kingdom of this world. These are not the prayers that motivate or move the hand of God. God has no desire to build any kingdom besides his own. With that in mind, we, as his children who are a part of that Kingdom, should have a heart and mind aligned with the will of God in a way that our motivations, hopes, dreams, and desires should always be to grow and expand the Kingdom of God, not our own. This is why in 1 John 5, John clarifies that God hears us and will gladly respond when our prayers are asked in a way that is according to his will. God’s will is his way. It is the direction he is heading and it’s the direction that we should be following as his children.
The passage in Isaiah 1 shares an instance of when God was not listening, no matter how many prayers were offered up. This is a passage in which context is key. There is a difference in hearing versus listening. The prophet’s words do not mean that God doesn’t hear or isn’t aware of all prayers (or everything else), but it is the idea that God is intently listening to the prayers of those who are devoted to and in relationship with him. Conversely, he is not intently listening and ready to answer the prayers of those who are not in relationship with him, or not honoring him. The context of Isaiah is that the people calling themselves godly would go into the temple as a religious show, then give offerings and cry out prayers and expect that God was listening and would answer. Yet, at the same time, the way they lived was not changing and they were not honoring God with their lives. They would also sacrifice to Baal and other false Gods at the same time, in an almost shotgun strategy of simply appeasing whichever god they believed would grant their requests. This idolatry and religiosity are not what God wants, because there is nothing wise, loving, or glorifying to God within those empty pleas. So the answer is yes, God hears every prayer, but no, God does not listen to every prayer. Think about this whenever you go to the Lord in prayer. Are my prayers glorifying to God? Are they done with the motivation of expanding God’s Kingdom and not my own? Are my prayers simply a religious show? Do my prayers line up with how I’m living my life? What has happened in my own heart that I would pursue motivations which are counter or not in line with the direction God is heading? What can now be done to realign my heart with God’s?
These passages also have something in common in that they explain the reasons why God answers prayer. The first reason is so that God may be glorified in the Son. The purpose of God answering prayer is always to advance the kingdom of God. This is what Jesus meant when he said, “If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.” The opposite would be to ask or request something in someone else’s name. This idea is akin to calling on Jesus to help build your own kingdom or to build the kingdom of this world. These are not the prayers that motivate or move the hand of God. God has no desire to build any kingdom besides his own. With that in mind, we, as his children who are a part of that Kingdom, should have a heart and mind aligned with the will of God in a way that our motivations, hopes, dreams, and desires should always be to grow and expand the Kingdom of God, not our own. This is why in 1 John 5, John clarifies that God hears us and will gladly respond when our prayers are asked in a way that is according to his will. God’s will is his way. It is the direction he is heading and it’s the direction that we should be following as his children.
The passage in Isaiah 1 shares an instance of when God was not listening, no matter how many prayers were offered up. This is a passage in which context is key. There is a difference in hearing versus listening. The prophet’s words do not mean that God doesn’t hear or isn’t aware of all prayers (or everything else), but it is the idea that God is intently listening to the prayers of those who are devoted to and in relationship with him. Conversely, he is not intently listening and ready to answer the prayers of those who are not in relationship with him, or not honoring him. The context of Isaiah is that the people calling themselves godly would go into the temple as a religious show, then give offerings and cry out prayers and expect that God was listening and would answer. Yet, at the same time, the way they lived was not changing and they were not honoring God with their lives. They would also sacrifice to Baal and other false Gods at the same time, in an almost shotgun strategy of simply appeasing whichever god they believed would grant their requests. This idolatry and religiosity are not what God wants, because there is nothing wise, loving, or glorifying to God within those empty pleas. So the answer is yes, God hears every prayer, but no, God does not listen to every prayer. Think about this whenever you go to the Lord in prayer. Are my prayers glorifying to God? Are they done with the motivation of expanding God’s Kingdom and not my own? Are my prayers simply a religious show? Do my prayers line up with how I’m living my life? What has happened in my own heart that I would pursue motivations which are counter or not in line with the direction God is heading? What can now be done to realign my heart with God’s?