Does God listen to all prayers?
Only According to God’s Will
1 John 5:14: “This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.“
ANYTHING we pray for he will hear us (notice it does not say He’ll answer exactly how we ask to be answered) but ONLY according to HIS will, not ours.
Asked in Genuine Faith
Mark 11:24: “Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you.”
Of those “anything” and “all things for which [we] pray and ask” we must also BELIEVE that which we are asking is actually, realistically possible, and that God can and will grant; BUT, only those prayers that are “according to His will“
Know God’s Words and Promises
John 15:7: “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.“
Our prayers conform more to the will of God when God’s “words abide in” us. We understand and perceive the will of God when we know the words of God. And when we better understand the will and words of God, we know exactly what and how to pray for things that are within the will of God. Thus, NOT knowing the word of God makes it harder to know what to ask for and harder to know what would and would not be the will of God or that which would glorify him.
God’s Will is Our Desire
Psalm 37:4: “Delight yourself in the Lord; And He will give you the desires of your heart.“
This is by far one of the most satanically taken-out-of-context verses by health and wealth prosperity (false) teachers. In light of all the other statements of God above, here too shows that it is, in fact, contingent on delighting in the Lord, and not delighting in yourself and your vain, carnal, covetous, greedy worldly materialistic superficial desires.
When we “delight [ourselves] in the Lord” we love the things that he loves, we hate the things he hates, and we long to honor and glorify him alone. Thus, our heart desires only that which glorifies God and fulfills his will, not ours. His desires become our desires. The heart of God flows through us.
Therefore, God will listen to our prayers if we really believe He can answer, but only if it is in accordance to His will and not ours. But this then begs the question:
Does God NOT listen to some prayers?
Unrepentant Prayers
Isaiah 1:15: “So when you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide My eyes from you; Yes, even though you multiply prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are covered with blood.“
Clearly there ARE times when God does NOT listen to prayers. When “Your hands are covered with blood”
Abomination Prayers
Proverbs 28:9: “He who turns away his ear from listening to the law,
Even his prayer is an abomination.“
When someone is living in sin, living in active rebellion and rejecting God, that persons’ prayers are “an abomination” to God. This is a fundamental problem for people who think there is some kind of “sinner’s prayer” that is prayed to bring someone into salvation. Aside from the fact that is a work and effort of a depraved spiritually dead person, here, God tells us that he thinks the prayers of an unregenerated person is still offensive. The principle is still true, dead people do not speak; spiritually dead people can not pray in the Spirit, unless they are first born again of God and regenerated.
Thus, God is actually offended by the prayers of someone who is spiritually dead and rejects him.
Check Your Motives
James 4:3: “You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures.”
But let’s say someone who is regenerated and born again prays to God, will they then get anything they ask for? Well, go back to 1 John 5:14. If it is not in accordance to God’s will, and asked selfishly or out of covertness or greed, or “your pleasure” than, God won’t grant it and give it.
The Prince of this World might give it though, if it is a carnal worldly desire and pleasure. Satan was afforded the ability to take things away from Job. Satan offered riches, status, and power to Jesus when tempting him. Romans 1:24 tell us that God “gave them over” to their sin. Sins that Satan would most defiantly feed.
If your prayers are self-seeking, self-focused, self-glorifying, like God is just an ATM when you need him, then you may not receive it. Which is a good thing. Your motive in prayer needs to be with and for God’s glory and will to be done, period.
Why pray if God already knows what we will ask?
We Aren’t Informing God of Anything New
Psalm 139:1–4: “O Lord, You have searched me and known me. 2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up; You understand my thought from afar. 3 You scrutinize my path and my lying down, And are intimately acquainted with all my ways. 4 Even before there is a word on my tongue,
Behold, O Lord, You know it all.
Because God is “intimately acquainted with all [our] ways” we can trust that he also knows what is BEST for us, more than we do for ourselves.
It’s Has Already Been Decided
Isaiah 46:9–11: “Remember the former things long past, For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like Me, 10 Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things which have not been done, Saying, ‘My purpose will be established, And I will accomplish all My good pleasure’; 11 Calling a bird of prey from the east, The man of My purpose from a far country. Truly I have spoken; truly I will bring it to pass. I have planned it, surely I will do it.“
Here God makes it absolutely clear that HE is sovereign and that He doesn’t bend or concede to anyone and their prayers. He makes it clear he doesn’t need anyone’s permission to do anything for his “good pleasure.” THIS is why we will get EVERYTHING we ask for that is in HIS will. HIS WILL is the unchanging absolute key factor.
So, this leads us back to our original question, why pray?
It’s a Core Expectation
Matthew 6:5a, 9a: “And when you pray… 9 This, then, is how you should pray…“
Prayer is a part of being spiritually alive in Christ. It is expected. It is what true born again, spiritually live, repentant believers WILL do. The “when” is assumed you will. The “should” is how you are expected to address and speak to the eternal and holy God Almighty.
Why is praying expected?
Children of God Desire to Obey God
1 Thessalonians 5:17: “pray without ceasing;”
Ephesians 6:18: “With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints“
Because God commands us to. He expects us to obey his commands. And he expects us to pray constantly. And if we truly love him, we will obey his commands (John 14:15-17).
What does prayer do if God’s will comes to pass regardless?
God’s Plans Preceded Our Prayers
Jeremiah 29:11-12: “For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. 12 Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.”
Not only are be being obedient when we pray, but we are also being transformed and conformed to HIS WILL, through genuine prayer.
Our Conformity to God’s Plans and Will
Luke 22:42: “saying, “Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done.”
Prayer helps us in our humanity accept the grander things of God. While walking in the spirit and praying in the spirit, our minds lead our wills to conform to the will of God.
Self Evaluation and Self Awareness through Prayer
Luke 18:13–14: “But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’ 14 I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.“
Prayer reveals your heart too. Imagine the arrogance and pride of your heart to ask God for something that you think and feel like you deserve. Because you do good works, that God owes you something because of your works. Or that you desire to have something, more than you desire Christ, and the only reason why you are even praying is in the hopes that you get that which you desire more than the Son of God. The tax collector in Luke 18 knew himself very well. Knew he didn’t deserve anything other than the righteous wrath of God for his sin. Check your motives (James 4:3).
Understanding The Lord’s Prayer
The Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13; Luke 11:1-4) is an example prayer Jesus gave us to better understand what to say to God Almighty when we enter HIS throne room in faith. Let’s break down the example Jesus gave:
‘Our Father who is in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
10 ‘Your kingdom come.
Your will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.
11 ‘Give us this day our daily bread.
12 ‘And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 ‘And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
Verse 9, the very first thing said, is praise and worship of God.
Verse 10, submission and recognition of God as the King of Kings and request his Kingdom, his rule, his authority and power in the world and in all of life; that HIS WILL be done.
Verse 11, request of the essentials to live for him and by sustained by him.
Verse 12, confession and repentance for our own sins, THEN also for us to forgive others who have sinned against us.
Verse 13a, discernment and maturity to avoid future sins we just confessed to and repented from.
Verse 13b, deliverance and enabling obedience to the God we just praised and worshiped at the opening of the prayer.
The whole prayer is also a form of the gospel. God is holy and almighty, we are not. While we were yet sinners, God still showed us grace and gave us exactly what we needed to live, his Son. Through his Son we are forgiven and this divine forgiveness compels us to forgive others, just as we have been forgiven. Because of the work of the cross, we a delivered from the slavery of sin.
Prayer Template
- Worship God
- Lord God, you are the King of Kings, you alone are the Alpha and Omega, Holy Holy Holy is your name.
- Accept His will, whatever it may be
- You are almighty, all knowing, and forever present, in heaven and in your world.
- May this world worship you alone, it’s eternal creator.
- May we trust in your plans and decrees through faith and not in ourselves, for you alone are God and have declared the end from the beginning.
- Make essential requests and thank him for past givings.
- Continue to wake us up each day, bless us with all that which we need to shine your light in this world.
- Confess sin, ask for mercy and forgiveness; thank him for his grace.
- Continue to intercede for us, guide our hearts into confession and true repentance. Teach us to hate our sin and crucify our flesh daily so that we may walk in the spirit and glorify you in our daily lives.
- Thank you for your grace that has saved us through the faith you have granted us.
- Ask for wisdom and guidance for a certain situation(s) and solutions that bring him glory and honor.
- Help us not just see the opportunities you provide us to glorify you, but also empower us to testify of your grace and truth, your gospel, to our friends, family, co-workers, and everyone you cause us to cross paths with.
- Give us wisdom in our situations so that we may glorify you and honor you, regardless of the outcome; conform us to your will.
- Thank God for his Son and his work on the Cross.
- You alone are holy, we are sinners. Thanks be to Jesus Christ, the Son of Man, for dying on the cross for our sins, we didn’t deserve or earn it. Glory be to the Jesus Christ, Son of God for raising from the dead 3 days later, defeating death, and taking our penalty for our sin; paying off our debt to our sin. Praise be to the Logos, the Word of God, who will come again and make all things new. Lord, please come.
- Praise God
- May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all
- The Lord bless us and keep us; the Lord make his face shine on us and be gracious to us; the Lord turn his face toward us and give us peace
- “For from him and through him and for him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.”
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