Q: I was shocked to hear a 'radio minister' say God does not listen to prayers of people who have not accepted Him as their Lord and Savior. Please give me some direction on this. Thank you.
A: Time to change radio stations! I only need to look to one story to answer this... that of Cornelius in Acts. Take a look at chapter 10. From the outset, in verse 2, we discover that he prays to God. In verse 4, an angel comes to him to tell him his prayers have been heard. He is told to send for Peter and here is what happened when Peter arrived:
“So Peter opened his mouth and said: "Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him." (Acts 10:34-35)
Keep in mind that Cornelius was not a man who had accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Peter subsequently told Cornelius about Jesus. Then the Holy Spirit fell on them and they believed.
When a person prays to God, He hears. The Old Testament has several examples (the people of Nineveh in Jonah 3:5-10, and Hagar in Gen 21-14-19 are two examples). In the New Testament, in addition to Cornelius, a Canaanite woman from Tyre/Sidon prayed that Jesus would deliver her daughter from a demon (Mark 7:24-30) and Jesus answered her prayer.
From testimonies people have shared with me (in addition to my wife's own testimony), one of the ways that God reveals Himself to those who don't know Him is by answered prayer.
Of course, God makes a number of statements about the believer’s prayer life and He does clarify the relationship of personal rightness before Him to his response (James 4:3; 1 Peter 3:7; and 1 John 5:14-5). God takes our prayers seriously—and so should we!
I hope that helps!
In Him,
Pastor Mark
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