Does God hear all prayers?

on

I have to admit that I cringe a little when I hear people say that God hears everyone’s prayers because it simply isn’t true. The bible clearly states that there are times when people have become so wicked for so long that God runs out of patience with them. Ancient Israel is an example of this. After God had done so much for the Jewish people such as bringing them out of Egypt, they still rebelled against Him, by disobeying His laws, which among other things included worshiping idols (Isaiah 1:2).

They apparently thought that God would continue accepting their sacrifices at the altar, observance of feast days, prayers, and other religious rituals as payment to cover their rebellion, no matter how much they sinned. But they were wrong. Instead of appeasing God, the practice of these things while living in sin was a burden to God.

When God had His fill of Israel’s disobedience, He spoke this through the prophet Isaiah:
When you spread out your hands, I will hide My eyes from you; Even though you make many prayers, I will not hear. Your hands are full of blood.
Isaiah 1:15
But right after this warning, God gave the Israelites a way out. He gave them the option to obey His laws and reap the benefits of doing so. He immediately followed that promise by sternly warning what would happen if they didn’t humble themselves and obey. (Isaiah 1:18-20).

This wasn’t the only time this has happened either. When King David’s son Solomon became king of Israel, God made Solomon this promise:
If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.
2 Chronicles 7:14
But God also warned Solomon what would happen if Israel failed to obey His laws and statutes (see 2 Chronicles 7:19:20).

There’s a lesson is this for all of us

God hates hypocritical religion. He doesn’t want people who play church on Sunday and then willfully sin Monday through Saturday. We can’t expect God to bless us if we stubbornly live however we want to live while ignoring God’s will for our lives. If “do what feels right” or “do what feels good” is your motto, then you’re living as the world lives and not how God wants you to live. I’ve been guilty of this in the past, how about you?

I believe that many people who identify themselves as Christian, can’t be identified as such by the way they live.

Perhaps this is why Jesus said “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it” (Matthew 7:13-14).

Certainly, many people enter the wide gate because they haven’t accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior but I believe there are also many people who identify themselves as Christians who are not saved because they didn’t believe in their heart that Jesus is the Christ, which leads to becoming a new creation. Jesus called it being born again.

Here’s some good news. There is hope for even the most wicked sinners. No matter what you’ve done, as long as you’re still breathing, it’s never too late to repent of your sins and get right with God. Do you have questions about how God expects you to live as a Christian? Just open His book, the holy bible and take His words to heart. All you need to know is in there.

Related messages

Comments

Post a Comment