How does God respond to prayers?

Wow! First, we must accept that God hears and knows all prayers. We know this because God is omniscient, which is a very big word that simply means that God sees and hears and knows everything that happens on earth. The Holy Bible also affirms this repeatedly.

So, make no mistake, when you pray to God … He hears you! So, now that we know that He hears our prayers, does He respond to them? There are many instances in both the Old Testament and New Testament in which righteous men and women had their prayers answered (e.g., Numbers 11:2; Judges 13:8-9; 1 Samuel 1; 1 Chronicles 4:10; Acts 4:24-31; James 5:17-18).

Ahhhh…but wait a minute. Did you catch that? I described those people as “righteous.” That basically means you have right standing with God. The Bible is very specific about prayers. Look at James 5:16, which states, “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.”

Jeremiah 29:12-13 says, “Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”

So, now we know that God responds to prayers but only if you love God and seek a relationship with him. Now, here’s the kicker … sometimes God’s answer may not be the answer you want! Sometimes, because He knows what is best for you, the answer might be “no.” You may want something so bad but God may realize that you either couldn’t handle having it or you didn’t need it and so His answer is, no. That kinda stinks, doesn’t it? We imagine God’s always going to be there for us (which He is!) and that He’s going to give us everything we ask for. But I’ve searched the Bible from front to back and He never makes that promise! He only assures that He hears our prayers and that He will answer them … even if that answer is, no.

Now, let me clear on one more thing. The Bible is also very specific about the prayers of those who are not in right standing with God or who are in habitual sin. In John 9:31 it says, “We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly man who does his will.” Proverbs 15:29 says, “The Lord is far from the wicked but hears the prayers of the righteous.” Psalm 66:18 clearly states, “If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.”

So, remember, if you want God to answer your prayers, you must acknowledge Him and love Him and have a relationship with Him.