Does God answer prayers of unsaved??

[praisegodnky]

I've been wondering this? I know people that are unsaved and when they get into trouble or hard times they say I prayed and prayed about such and such. Does God answer their prayers?

[£amb]

I've been wondering this? I know people that are unsaved and when they get into trouble or hard times they say I prayed and prayed about such and such. Does God answer their prayers?

I was curious about this too. I went to the bible and several reliable sources for information to see what I could find on this subject. I am in no way claiming to know the "right" answer, but hoping I can help.

David tells us in Psalm 66:20 that some prayers are ineffectual and not listened to by God. This kind of statement is repeated in Psalm 80:4, where we are told that God can be angry against certain prayers. As God’s anger is kindled against falsity and sin, we may safely assume that He rejects prayers that are not of His prompting. The prayers of men who act wickedly ‘become sin’ (Psalm 109:7) and are thus false, as are the prayers of men who ignore God’s commands (Proverbs 28:9).

God told Jeremiah (7:16 and 11:14) that prayers on behalf of his kinsmen would be useless and that he would not even listen to them, because of their sin. Lamentations also refers to times when God refuses to listen to prayers.

Prayers that are deemed vain will not be listened to by God (Job 35:13). Note that long prayers for their own sake without God’s prompting, are called ‘vain’. The Israelites were warned by God that they would not be heeded when they prayed to God for comfort after choosing their own king (1 Samuel 8:18). He refuses to hear prayers of those who sin inwardly (Psalm 66:18). In Isaiah 59:2 we see why this happens – sinfulness separates us from God. We find this repeated in Micah 3:4, and God’s warning is extended to include a curse if such sin continues (Malachi 2:2).

The above tells us that God does not listen to everything we tend to call ‘prayer’. As with all else, God’s goodness toward us requires a full acknowledgement of our own sin. This sin must be repented of before we may come to Him in prayer. To do this, we must firstly be convicted of our sin and of our need to repent – an activity of the Holy Spirit alone.

True prayer, then, is always that prayer given to us by God, through the Holy Spirit. The prayers uttered by unsaved men, who are still in their sin, are not heeded by God, because they have no holy link with God whatever.

[Oscarr]

I've been wondering this? I know people that are unsaved and when they get into trouble or hard times they say I prayed and prayed about such and such. Does God answer their prayers?

The short answer to this question is, no.
"If I regard iniquity in my heart the Lord will not hear me."

This is only one prayer that God is open to from an unbeliever:
"Lord I am a wretched sinner, deserving of your just punishment in hell. I acknowledge that Jesus died for me on the Cross and took my sin upon Himself. I ask for complete forgiveness and cleansing from sin and I accept the righteousness of Christ to cover my sin. I now accept Jesus into my life as Saviour and Lord."

After praying that prayer from the heart, God is now open for him to come boldly to the throne of grace to offer any prayer he wishes to God.

[Flynmonkie]

You know I am short on time here to give the Biblical basis for this but I am going to give you some Godly "common" sense here. Sure one can pray, but they have to recognize Him to.

God does not expect us to be perfect Christians all at once. The only thing they have to do to start a relationship with God is talk with Him and really try to listen. Believe. faith (look up what size of faith you need to have in the Bible! A Mustard Seed! Matthew 17:20) IMHO Faith can be a learning process and at times we fail, but we catch ourselves by reminding ourselves of Gods promises to us. Not only has he promised to show us the way - He will. I am living proof as fellow Christians here on this board. All of us were not saved at one time. And most all have wondered the same thing. But as a Christian there is nothing BUT assurance all over the Bible that we don't have to understand Gods ways all the time. He understands we are growing on different levels at different times. Not only that HE PROMISES to guide us to the truth He wants us to see. The only thing we have to do is ask. A good example, your father would not expect you to drive a car when you are two correct? I believe it is the same with Christianity. Christianity is not a religion or a denomination; it is your own personal relationship with God. God knows we are all learning to lead a Christian walk, we do this because we want to please Him, as we grow in our faith and become more mature, we realize more and more of our sinful nature and start putting away those things for a more meaningful walk with Him. Developing a Christ Like attitude. We can never be perfect in this lifetime, which is called glorification. I believe that will happen when we see Jesus face to face. But in the meantime we should strive to be the best we possibly can be – out of sheer respect and awe for just how awesome our Father is!

The simple answer would be, to talk with God shows an element of faith correct? Shows that you are earnestly seeking Him.. Correct? That you believe the possibility of God even exists? So yes, I do believe God answered all of us unsaved - this is why we are Christians. I know this is how I started my walk with Him.

Each individual’s intimate personal relationship with God starts Gods way, not "our" way. And I fully believe He works in all of us differently. You could never dictate whom God will or will not listen to. You can think you might have a clue (we have scripture that tells us some pretty obvious stuff) But truly you can never know ones heart condition.

So encourage them to pray that prayer and listen for His answer very closely. No doubt in my mind He will talk to them...He knows their hearts better than even they do! But they have to listen. And that is where you come in. Teaching others how to listen to God. Using this as a witness and showing them how to have a relationship with him. You are here to encourage that relationship between them and God. I could not imagine if a Christian had told me when I was not saved that He would not answer my prayer -- I would hate to think that would cause a stumbling block in sharing the gospel.

God says: I Take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, I wish for them to turn from their sinful ways and flee. (Just like most of our earthly fathers want to see us happy)

He takes NO pleasure in this. He does not want us to think He does not care. That is the point – He sent His son here to show us JUST how much He loves us…But some people still just don’t seem to get it.