God is not listening to them

On May 14th, Pope Francis joined with Muslims to encourage all people on earth who believe in God, to pray to their God to end the Coronavirus.

I think that when we hear of things like this an obvious question comes up in our minds, does God listen to every type of prayer or does he only listen to a specific type of person? Does He listen to people who are part of false religions?




Psalm 145:18 says this,

The Lord is near to all who call upon Him,
To all who call upon Him in truth

Psalm 145:18
In a section of this psalm devoted to pondering the grace of God in our lives, the psalmist declares the nearness of God to those who call upon Him. This pondering clearly propels David towards praise. The sheer notion of the nearness of God should cause our hearts to exult in praise to Him for stooping down towards sinful man.

There is nothing more comforting than knowing that the Lord is near to us when we call out to Him. That no matter what we are facing and no matter how difficult the situation is our shepherd is near and ready and willing to listen to us. This verse is a wonderful promise to those who believe in God that he is near when we call upon Him.

But it does lead to an important question. Does this mean that God will be near to anyone who calls upon Him? Does he answer the prayers of all people?

While it might be popular to believe the contrary, Psalm 145 clearly tells us that God only listens to prayers of people who call upon Him in truth. 

And yet, as you look around at the other religions of the world, there are many people who pray, some people would put many Christians to shame in their efforts.




But is God listening?

• Did you know that there are people who go to the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem every single day who go there for the sole purpose of begging God to send the Messiah for the first time? 
• People who faithfully, day after day, go and pray sometimes in tears asking God to send the promised Messiah. 
• Will God answer their prayer?

Of course not! He already came. While it might be admirable to see the commitment level of people who go each day at the western wall, it is offensive to Jesus Christ to pray that prayer.



There are hundreds each day that line up on the Holy Steps in Rome, doing the Rosary and hoping that through their prayers to Mary that God in his mercy would allow their loved one to leave purgatory seven years sooner. Will God see the tears and listen to their prayers and grant their request?

Of course not! Purgatory doesn’t even exist. 




There are millions upon millions of people who daily pray memorized prayers to their god sometimes even up to five times a day, hoping that God will listen to them and grant them salvation through their efforts, but will God see their efforts and grant them salvation based on it?


Of course not! He would never share his glory with any human and allow them to earn their salvation through works.

It is imperative that as believers we understand this simple truth, that is that God only listens to one type of prayer, the prayer offered in truth. 

This is a clear pattern in scripture. When the Pharisee prays, Luke points out the fact that he is “praying to himself” thereby stating that God isn’t listening (Luke 18:11), later John says, “This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.”

Implying that God hears us when we pray according to His will. (1 John 5:14) Obviously, he hears everything, but John is emphasizing the fact that God listens and answers those who want His will to be done above all else.




Jesus Christ was very clear when he said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life, no man comes to the Father but through me.” John 14:6

This verse not only teaches that Jesus Himself is the truth but it also instructs us that without belief in Him and the possession of His righteousness no one can approach God. 

It is not unloving of us to point out this fact. 

I would say that pointing this out and teaching this truth will only lead believers to grow in their love for the lost. In the same way, it will only be helpful for unbelievers to hear that in order for God to hear them that they must repent of their sin, repent of their pride and put their trust in Jesus Christ alone. Then and only then will they be able to boldly approach the throne of the Lord, not because of their own righteousness but because of Christ’s.

I hope that you will never lose the wonder of the fact that the sovereign Creator of the universe, who knows the depth of the wickedness in our hearts, loves to listen and be near to us when we call upon Him through His son Jesus Christ. May we continuously go to Him to praise Him, and to supplicate Him for all of our needs in order to glorify Him each and every day!


Author: Cripplegate