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.

How does God know how we feel when we're guilty if Jesus never sinned?

Excellent question!!! In order to understand God’s awesome abilities we have to expand our own imagination and remember that God is not like us. One of the reasons we have difficulty understanding God’s power is because we try and humanize God. It’s easier to picture Him if we think of Him to be like us.

But, God is so much greater than us. God is omniscient, which means He knows everything, is aware of everything and understands everything. He has a complete knowledge and perception of all things.

Don’t forget, God created the Earth and the universe and everything in it, including you and me. You and I are created in God’s image so everything you and I are capable of doing or thinking or feeling, God is capable of except to a much greater degree.

The fact that Jesus never sinned doesn’t mean God doesn’t know what sin is or the guilt associated with sin. Not only does He know what sin is, He hates it! God can’t even be in the presence of sin because He is so holy and perfect. Even before Adam and Eve took that bite from the apple, sin existed. Do you know who committed the first sin and do you know what that sin was?

It was an angel named Lucifer. Lucifer wasn’t just an angel though. He was God’s second-in-command (so to speak) and he was the most beautiful angel and the most intelligent angel in Heaven and was given a lot of power. But, do you know what happened to that angel? Lucifer became prideful and felt he could do a better job than God. The sin of pride entered into Heaven. Lucifer tried to take over but he lost and was cast out of Heaven. He also took a third of the angels with him. You may know Lucifer by his other name…Satan. And those angels are his demons.

God knows when we sin, He knows how we feel when we sin and He knows the guilt associated with sin. But, here’s the great news. God can and will forgive all sin. Not only does He forgive, but once you truly repent, He also forgets it. He’ll never, ever hold it against you. It’s like it never happened. I guess what I’m trying to say is, if God can forgive and forget then there is no reason to hold onto guilt about committing that sin. And that is AWESOME!!!

How can God be everywhere at once?

Great question,! Sometimes it’s so hard to understand God’s awesome abilities and powers. The problem is that us lowly, puny human beings try to create God in our image rather than the other way around!

But, let’s remember one thing…there is only one true God and we need to see Him as He is, which is omniscient (all-knowing), omnipotent (all-powerful) and omnipresent (being everywhere at the same time).

In answer to your question, God's omnipresence means that He is present everywhere all the time. Look at what the Bible says:

God said through Jeremiah, “Am I only a God far away? Can anyone hide in secret places so that I cannot see him? Do I not fill heaven and earth?” (Jeremiah 23:23,24)

In Psalm 139 David wrote, “I can never escape from your Spirit! I can never get away from your presence! If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I go down to the grave, you are there. If I ride the wings of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest oceans, even there your hand will guide me, and your strength will support me. I could ask the darkness to hide me and the light around me to become night— but even in darkness I cannot hide from you. To you the night shines as bright as day. Darkness and light are the same to you.” (Psalm 139:7-12)

In Matthew 28:20 Jesus told us, “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Bottom line, there is no place where God is not. God is not only present in all places but God is fully present in every place. I have to admit, this kind of thinking is wayyyy beyond my brain capacity! But we must try to understand that God is able to be "present everywhere" because He is Spirit. He is not confined to a three dimensional existence. God is infinite which means He has no beginning or end. God is not limited by human categories, human experience, or human reason.

But, and here’s the best part: knowing that God is omnipresent not only means that you don't need to feel alone, it means you don’t need to be afraid. No matter what you are facing, you face it with God at your side.