Ask RC- Does God hear the prayers of the unregenerate?


Of course. And, of course not. The difference depends on what we mean by “hear.” God hears the prayers of all people, before they even leave their lips. Here we are careful to affirm the omniscience of God, that God quite literally knows all things. Remember as well that we are promised that when we are judged we will give an account of every idle word. God’s interest in the world is not limited to the rise and fall of nations. Instead He is sovereign over, and knows all things. In fact, God ordains all things, having planned everything that would come to pass before the foundation of the world. God hears the prayers of the unregenerate, whether they believe these prayers to be addressed to the living God, or addressed to false gods the world around.

On the other hand, God does not hear the prayers of the unregenerate, if we mean by hear, “heed.” That is, God is not listening to these prayers as an attentive father listens to the concerns of his child. Remember that the unregenerate, and such were once all of us, are not disinterested persons, but are by nature the enemies of God. There is a good and important reason why we we pray these words, “In Jesus’ name, amen.” This is not just a polite sign off, like, “Over and out.” Rather we are reminding God that we are well aware that were we not covered in the atoning blood of Christ, we would not be free to even enter into His presence with our prayers. By ourselves we cannot come to Him. We in ourselves, like Isaiah, have unclean lips, and dwell among a people of unclean lips. By the blood of Christ, however we are invited to crawl up into His lap and bring our prayers to Him.

In short, God does hear the prayers of the unregenerate, but He is not all pleased to hear them. He sees them as we ought to see them, presumptious affronts to His holiness. We should not be encouraged when those who will not confess the name of Christ are praying, thinking that this means they must be at least part way there. Instead we ought to fear for their safety. God is not only not impressed with such “spirituality” but is profoundly offended by it. Even the regenerate would be wise to remember that “In Jesus’ name, amen” isn’t just a polite sign off to our prayers, but is instead the very foundation of our prayers, the very door by which they might be “heard.” We would likewise be wise to remember that while God does not “hear” the prayers of the regenerate, He does indeed hear, and delights to hear the prayers of the regenerate for the unregenerate. Pray for the lost, for their prayers will only lead them deeper into His wrath while yours may be used to bring them into the kingdom.

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