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NOTE: This lesson is not a sermon, but an invitation presented one Wednesday evening.

Prayer – Does God Hear the Prayers of Sinners?

We know how important prayer really is in the life of a Christian.  But what about one who has never obeyed the gospel?  Does God hear his prayers? 

            Much of the religious world today teaches that Yes, He does.  The doctrine of salvation by “faith only” usually calls for a prayer to God (which takes it out of the realm of “faith only”?).  But does God actually hear that prayer?  More importantly, HOW does God answer that prayer?  And furthermore, is there any prayer of one who is not a Christian that God hears?  Let us briefly answer these questions tonight.

What about the prayer of “faith only” that saves one from his sins and makes him a Christian?  First of all, we read of no such prayer in all of scripture.

We DO read in John 9:31, “Now we know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does His will, He hears him.”  And this concurs with many other passages such as, Proverbs 15:29 which says, “The Lord is far from the wicked, but He hears the prayer of the righteous.”  Also Psalm 66:18, 1 Peter 3:12.  But it is worthy of note that in each of these passages, it is WHOEVER is living in sin that is being addressed, whether it be Christians who have refused to repent or those who have never obeyed the Gospel.  The fact is that one who is living in sin and refuses to do anything about is NOT going to have his prayers heard.

We also need to consider the example of Cornelius in Acts 10:1-4, “There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian Regiment, a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, who gave alms generously to the people, and prayed to God always. About the ninth hour of the day he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God coming in and saying to him, "Cornelius!"   And when he observed him, he was afraid, and said, "What is it, lord?" So he said to him, "Your prayers and your alms have come up for a memorial before God.”
            We also have the example of Paul who after being struck blind on the road to Damascus where he was instructed to go and wait until he was told what to do.  Acts 9:11 tells us that he was praying to God.  But in BOTH of these examples we must know that while their prayers were heard, they were NOT prayers in which their sins were forgiven.  Instead, as a result of their prayers, God SENT them instructions with which they could learn what they needed to do.

And that leads me to the question we asked at the beginning.  IF God gave Cornelius and Paul further instructions concerning their salvation (see Acts 10:47-48, 22:16), even though they prayed (sincerely, I might ad), then we cannot expect God to save one today simply because they pray to Him.

Prayer is a PRIVILEGE that Christians enjoy.  1 Peter 3:10-12 says, “For ‘He who would love life And see good days, Let him refrain his tongue from evil, And his lips from speaking deceit. Let him turn away from evil and do good; Let him seek peace and pursue it.  For the eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, And His ears are open to their prayers; But the face of the LORD is against those who do evil.’”  Our prayers to our Heavenly Father are offered THROUGH Jesus.  Understand this, if you are not a Christian, then don’t expect your prayers to be heard by God!  So why not become a Christian tonight? Put on the Lord (Galatians 3:27) in the act of baptism.  This of course must be a product of your faith.  But you can leave here tonight in a saved condition knowing that whatever you ask the Lord, He will hear you.  Think about it!