Yesterday I had the opportunity to sit outside on one of the concrete tables near the building where I teach my history classes. It was a nice, cool, and sunny day and the feel of the sun was something that I have really missed over the winter months. I pulled out my pocket-sized Bible and began reading through Psalms when I had a student approach me to ask me some questions about a recent assignment. When she saw that I was reading the Bible, she began to ask me questions about my faith, how I “fit it in” my life, and some other questions. I explained to her that I do not define my faith; my faith defines me, she immediately began to ask questions about my understanding about prayer.
Since 2006, I have become more serious about my faith in God. I also began to take literally the things that I read in the Bible so that I will not have to stand ashamed of my life in front of an Holy God. When she asked me that question, the first verse that came into my mind was: But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear (I Peter 3:15). Although the apostle Peter was referring to the times when Christians will be brought before kings and judges to explain their holding to the faith in Jesus Christ, I believe that this verse has an application that we are always, as Christians, to be ready to explain any aspect of our faith to those that genuinely ask for understanding. In this case, this student was asking about my understanding of prayer; as a Christian, I owed her the explanation of my understanding.
I began (as I will begin here) to explain that God does not hear every prayer but only hears the prayers of those who have, through faith, been redeemed. While the world holds on to the erroneous belief that God hears all prayers, this is not the case, as taught by Solomon as he was led by the Spirit of God to write: The LORD is far from the wicked: but he heareth the prayer of the righteous (Proverbs 15:29). Even the Old Testament prophet Jeremiah understood that God will not hear the prayers of the wicked and unredeemed: Therefore thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will bring evil upon them, which they shall not be able to escape; and though they shall cry unto me, I will not hearken unto them (Jeremiah 11:11) The first prayer that God hears from anyone (except the Lord Jesus Christ when he was on Earth) is the prayer of repentance. The apostle Paul understood this: For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved (Romans 10:13) and That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved (Romans 10:9).
God does hear our prayers, but that we have to first understand the condition of our heart. David, a man after God’s own heart, understood this as he was led by the Spirit of God to write, If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me (Psalms 66:18). Another Old Testament prophet, Micah, explained why God would not hear the Jewish people, although they were his own chosen people: Then shall they cry unto the LORD, but he will not hear them: he will even hide his face from them at that time, as they have behaved themselves ill in their doings (Micah 3:4). This is not just an Old Testament principle that has no relevance to today’s New Testament believer; the apostle James explained to the Christians of his day why their prayers were appearing not to be answered: Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts (James 4:3). During Jesus’ earthly ministry, he also taught there was another reason why prayers to God seemingly go unanswered: And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive (Matthew 21:22).
