Does God hear every prayer? That question is more controversial than it seems. Many would like to think that God is the ultimate egalitarian, treating all equally. But that is the fairy godmother version of God and not the God of the Bible. Let’s consider two verses from Proverbs.
“The sacrifice of the wicked is detestable to the Lord, but the prayer of the upright is his delight.” (Proverbs 15:8, CSB) And, “The Lord is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayer of the righteous.” (Proverbs 15:29, CSB)
Now, in a purely mechanical sense, God does hear every prayer. In the all-knowingness of God’s nature, He knows everything we feel, think, and say. But hearing is more than just sound striking our ears. The meaning is more like, what prayers does God take notice of? It’s not that God is deaf to the wicked; He’s not. For the most part, God ignores the prayers of the wicked unless they lead to surrender and repentance.
We must also recognize that none of us is righteous. How religious, how nice, or how well we keep the Ten Commandments doesn’t really matter. “As it is written: There is no one righteous, not even one. There is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. All have turned away; all alike have become worthless. There is no one who does what is good, not even one.” (Romans 3:10–12, CSB) Righteousness is only through Jesus, “But now, apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been revealed, attested by the Law and the Prophets. The righteousness of God is through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe, since there is no distinction.” (Romans 3:21–22, CSB) God doesn’t hear prayers because of anything we’ve done, but solely because of who we are in Christ.
This set of Proverbs is more about our attitude and relationship with God than anything else. They call us to examine our own hearts. Why do we worship? Are our prayers wicked in the sense of being selfish or desiring harm to others? Do we feel that God owes us the answer we desire? We worship to glorify God, not to get something from Him. God doesn’t owe anyone anything, regardless of how fervently religious or diligent in good works or consistent in tithing they are.
That God would hear our prayers should humble us rather than puff us up. But knowing that God does hear us should encourage us to pray all the more. Paul encouraged the Thessalonians to “pray constantly”. (1 Thessalonians 5:17, CSB) God delights in our prayers. He welcomes our questions, concerns, needs, praises, and intercession for others. Not because of who we are or what we’ve done, but through faith in Jesus Christ.
And what about the wicked? One of our tasks in Christ is to pray for them too.
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