Does God answer the prayers of unbelievers?

Does God hear the prayers of sinners and unbelievers?

Biblword

As we read the Bible, we are repeatedly encouraged to pray to God. For example, in Philippians 4:6 we read: “In everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” And in John 16:24, Jesus tells His disciples: “Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.”

However, Proverbs 28:9 warns us that God does not answer the prayers of people who don’t listen to His law. In other words, you can’t expect Him to grant your wishes if you don’t bother to respect Him. In a similar way, Proverbs 15:29 says that the Lord does not answer the prayers of wicked people, but when righteous people pray, He listens.

So does this mean that God only answers the prayers of people who wholeheartedly believe in Him and obey His commandments, while rejecting the prayers of sinners and unbelievers?

God does not reject anyone who sincerely prays to Him

If God only listened to a small group of people who fully met His standards of righteousness and faith, our situation would be quite hopeless. In fact, we are all “sinners” by birth… The good news is, we don’t need to prove our worth to pray to God; that would be futile. We don’t need to learn religious vocabulary or rituals to talk to Him. Our first prayer can be just a simple, “God, I don’t know whether You really exist. Please make Yourself known to me!”

Jesus explicitly said that He came “not to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Matthew 9:13; Mark 2:17; Luke 5:32). In contrast to the religious leaders at that time, Jesus chose to socialize with the marginalized in society. He invited them to repent of their sins and to start a new life. This did not change when Jesus left this world to return to heaven. He still welcomes sinners, and the primary means for them to come to Him is by prayer.

Some encouraging examples from the Bible

  • In Luke 18:9-14, Jesus had a conversation with some people who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else. Jesus wanted to show them that this attitude was wrong. He told them a story about a man who went to the temple to pray. This man was a tax collector for the Romans — despised by his fellow citizens and especially by the religious elite. He hardly dared to enter the temple. “Standing far off”, he humbly pleaded: “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” Jesus says that “this man went down to his house justified.” God welcomes sinners. He answers their prayers.
  • In Mark 9:14-27, a desperate father asked Jesus to heal his son who was tortured by an evil spirit: “If You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” Jesus assured the man that all things are possible for one who believes. In response, the father cried out: “I believe; help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24). His earnest prayer was answered immediately, and the boy was healed.
  • The book of Chronicles tells us about an extremely sinful king, Manasseh. He worshiped idols, desecrated the temple, burned his sons as an offering, used fortune-telling and sorcery, and dealt with mediums and necromancers. In short, “he did much evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking Him to anger.” (2 Chronicles 33:6). As a consequence, God sent enemies to take him into exile. But then, in 2 Chronicles 33:12-13, we read about a remarkable turn in Manasseh’s life. “When he was in distress, he entreated the favor of the Lord his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers. He prayed to Him, and God was moved by his entreaty and heard his plea and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord was God.”
  • In the book of Acts, we read about a young man named Saul who persecuted Christians and aimed to destroy the Church. One day, a light from heaven flashed around him and he heard a voice from heaven: “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? … I am Jesus, Whom you are persecuting.” (Acts 9:3-5) Saul was speechless and blind and he did not eat or drink for three days. He repented and started to pray — and God heard his prayers. He appointed Saul as a missionary to proclaim the Gospel everywhere.

These examples show that God answers the prayers of people who are written off by society, who feel they lack faith, and who are notorious for their grave sins and opposition against Jesus. God does not consider them unworthy of His attention.

We should note, however, that these people humbled themselves before God when praying. Although they didn’t have their faith and their life choices sorted out, and they acknowledged that they needed God’s help. This is a heart attitude that God graciously responds to. As James 4:6 tells us, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

The more important question

Asking whether God answers the prayers of sinners and unbelievers is the wrong question. The Bible makes it abundantly clear that sinners and unbelievers should repent and come to faith. Whether or not God may answer some of their prayers if they don’t have a personal relationship with Him, does not make much of a difference in the long run. Without saving faith, people may receive temporary blessings, but they will not gain eternal life. As long as they are not reconciled to their heavenly Father, they don’t have free access to His throne of grace, and they won’t experience lasting peace and joy. That’s why “we implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God!” (2 Corinthians 5:20)

John Piper writes,

“As far as unbelievers are concerned, there is one prayer that we know God answers for them, the earnest plea to Christ for salvation. Whether God answers any other prayers of those who reject Christ is irrelevant. It is irrelevant whether persons who throw away eternal life and insist on going to hell are given a few earthly pleasures along the way. The only thing such pleasures will do for them, if they persist in their unbelief, is to make their guilt and their torment all the worse because they don’t use them as an occasion for repentance. So it is no great boon even if God does answer some of their prayers. […] In order for answered prayers to be a lasting blessing for the person who prays, that person must be saved, he must be a believer in Christ.”1

Conclusion

God is sovereign, and there is no limit to His power and ability. We cannot put Him in a box and say this or that is what He will or will not do. He knows what is in the heart of every man, woman and child. He hears the cry of their hearts and He can choose to answer any prayer that He sees fit, but the most important question is—Do you believe? Have you turned from your sinful ways and have you become His child?

  1. https://www.desiringgod.org/messages/what-do-answers-to-prayer-depend-on-part-1 ↩︎
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Does God hear the prayers of sinners and unbelievers?
Biblword
Does God answer the prayers of unbelievers?

As we read the Bible, we are repeatedly encouraged to pray to God. For example, in Philippians 4:6 we read: “In everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” And in John 16:24, Jesus tells His disciples: “Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.”

However, Proverbs 28:9 warns us that God does not answer the prayers of people who don’t listen to His law. In other words, you can’t expect Him to grant your wishes if you don’t bother to respect Him. In a similar way, Proverbs 15:29 says that the Lord does not answer the prayers of wicked people, but when righteous people pray, He listens.

So does this mean that God only answers the prayers of people who wholeheartedly believe in Him and obey His commandments, while rejecting the prayers of sinners and unbelievers?

God does not reject anyone who sincerely prays to Him

If God only listened to a small group of people who fully met His standards of righteousness and faith, our situation would be quite hopeless. In fact, we are all “sinners” by birth… The good news is, we don’t need to prove our worth to pray to God; that would be futile. We don’t need to learn religious vocabulary or rituals to talk to Him. Our first prayer can be just a simple, “God, I don’t know whether You really exist. Please make Yourself known to me!”

Jesus explicitly said that He came “not to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Matthew 9:13; Mark 2:17; Luke 5:32). In contrast to the religious leaders at that time, Jesus chose to socialize with the marginalized in society. He invited them to repent of their sins and to start a new life. This did not change when Jesus left this world to return to heaven. He still welcomes sinners, and the primary means for them to come to Him is by prayer.

Some encouraging examples from the Bible

  • In Luke 18:9-14, Jesus had a conversation with some people who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else. Jesus wanted to show them that this attitude was wrong. He told them a story about a man who went to the temple to pray. This man was a tax collector for the Romans — despised by his fellow citizens and especially by the religious elite. He hardly dared to enter the temple. “Standing far off”, he humbly pleaded: “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” Jesus says that “this man went down to his house justified.” God welcomes sinners. He answers their prayers.
  • In Mark 9:14-27, a desperate father asked Jesus to heal his son who was tortured by an evil spirit: “If You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” Jesus assured the man that all things are possible for one who believes. In response, the father cried out: “I believe; help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24). His earnest prayer was answered immediately, and the boy was healed.
  • The book of Chronicles tells us about an extremely sinful king, Manasseh. He worshiped idols, desecrated the temple, burned his sons as an offering, used fortune-telling and sorcery, and dealt with mediums and necromancers. In short, “he did much evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking Him to anger.” (2 Chronicles 33:6). As a consequence, God sent enemies to take him into exile. But then, in 2 Chronicles 33:12-13, we read about a remarkable turn in Manasseh’s life. “When he was in distress, he entreated the favor of the Lord his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers. He prayed to Him, and God was moved by his entreaty and heard his plea and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord was God.”
  • In the book of Acts, we read about a young man named Saul who persecuted Christians and aimed to destroy the Church. One day, a light from heaven flashed around him and he heard a voice from heaven: “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? … I am Jesus, Whom you are persecuting.” (Acts 9:3-5) Saul was speechless and blind and he did not eat or drink for three days. He repented and started to pray — and God heard his prayers. He appointed Saul as a missionary to proclaim the Gospel everywhere.

These examples show that God answers the prayers of people who are written off by society, who feel they lack faith, and who are notorious for their grave sins and opposition against Jesus. God does not consider them unworthy of His attention.

We should note, however, that these people humbled themselves before God when praying. Although they didn’t have their faith and their life choices sorted out, and they acknowledged that they needed God’s help. This is a heart attitude that God graciously responds to. As James 4:6 tells us, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

The more important question

Asking whether God answers the prayers of sinners and unbelievers is the wrong question. The Bible makes it abundantly clear that sinners and unbelievers should repent and come to faith. Whether or not God may answer some of their prayers if they don’t have a personal relationship with Him, does not make much of a difference in the long run. Without saving faith, people may receive temporary blessings, but they will not gain eternal life. As long as they are not reconciled to their heavenly Father, they don’t have free access to His throne of grace, and they won’t experience lasting peace and joy. That’s why “we implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God!” (2 Corinthians 5:20)

John Piper writes,

“As far as unbelievers are concerned, there is one prayer that we know God answers for them, the earnest plea to Christ for salvation. Whether God answers any other prayers of those who reject Christ is irrelevant. It is irrelevant whether persons who throw away eternal life and insist on going to hell are given a few earthly pleasures along the way. The only thing such pleasures will do for them, if they persist in their unbelief, is to make their guilt and their torment all the worse because they don’t use them as an occasion for repentance. So it is no great boon even if God does answer some of their prayers. […] In order for answered prayers to be a lasting blessing for the person who prays, that person must be saved, he must be a believer in Christ.”1

Conclusion

God is sovereign, and there is no limit to His power and ability. We cannot put Him in a box and say this or that is what He will or will not do. He knows what is in the heart of every man, woman and child. He hears the cry of their hearts and He can choose to answer any prayer that He sees fit, but the most important question is—Do you believe? Have you turned from your sinful ways and have you become His child?

  1. https://www.desiringgod.org/messages/what-do-answers-to-prayer-depend-on-part-1 ↩︎
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