Does God Listen to All Prayers?

God invites people of all nations to draw close to him in prayer.

"O Hearer of prayer, even to you people of all flesh will come."

(Psalm 65:2)

However, he does not listen to all prayers. For instance, when the Israelites persisted in badness, God refused to hear their prayers.

"Where else will YOU be struck still more, in that YOU add more revolt? The whole head is in a sick condition, and the whole heart is feeble."  (Isaiah 1:5)

The prayers of a man who mistreats his wife can be hindered too. 

"YOU husbands, continue dwelling in like manner with them according to knowledge, assigning them honor as to a weaker vessel, the feminine one, since YOU are also heirs with them of the undeserved favor of life, in order for YOUR prayers not to be hindered."   (1 Peter 3:7)

But God will hear the prayers of gross sinners if they are truly repentant.

"And Ma‧nas′seh kept seducing Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to do worse than the nations that Jehovah had annihilated from before the sons of Israel.

And Jehovah kept speaking to Ma‧nas′seh and his people, but they paid no attention. Finally Jehovah brought against them the chiefs of the army that belonged to the king of As‧syr′i‧a, and so they captured Ma‧nas′seh in the hollows and bound him with two fetters of copper and took him to Babylon. And as soon as it caused him distress, he softened the face of Jehovah his God and kept humbling himself greatly because of the God of his forefathers. And he kept praying to Him, so that He let himself be entreated by him and He heard his request for favor and restored him to Jerusalem to his kingship; and Ma‧nas′seh came to know that Jehovah is the [true] God."  (2 Chronicles 33:9-13)

(Based on the Watchtower, Sept. 1, 2011, page 16)

Does Praying Do Any Good?

"O Hearer of prayer, 

even to you people of all flesh will come." 

(Psalm 65:2) 

Almost everyone feels the need to pray. On the other hand, there are those who feel that praying doesn't help at all.

Such differing sentiments raise these following questions:

What do people expect to achieve by praying? 
Are all these prayers doing any good?


The answers can be read here:
Does Praying Do Any Good?
                                                  
In this article, the following question will also be answered:

WHY DO PEOPLE PRAY?
DOES ANYONE HEAR PRAYERS?
ARE ALL PRAYERS HEARD?

Read on, and find out about a power that you may have never known before.

Psalm 6

A comforting video for those who are feeling extreme loneliness and despair.

Scriptural Tips on How to Drive Sadness Away

1) Talk about it

Proverbs 17:17

"A true companion is loving all the time, and is a brother that is born for when there is distress."

We may think of someone we can completely trust, and confide in him/her about what we feel. When we talk about our feelings, we feel an overwhelming relief, knowing that someone knows what we're going through. That will get us out of the pit of sadness.

2) Write about it

Proverbs 3:21

"Safeguard practical wisdom and thinking ability,  and they will prove to be life to your soul and charm to your throat."

Putting down our thoughts and feelings on paper when sadness overwhelms us can help us "safeguard practical wisdom and thinking ability."

One Biblical example in writing down feelings of deep sadness is King David. We can read his expressions at Psalm 6:6:

"I have grown weary with my sighing;

All night long I make my couch swim;

With my tears I make my own divan overflow."

We can do similarly by keeping a journal and writing down what we feel and what we think may be at the root of our sadness.

3) Pray about it

Philippians 4:6,7

"Do not be anxious over anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication along with thanksgiving let your petitions be made known to God;  and the peace of God that excels all thought will guard your hearts and your mental powers by means of Christ Jesus."

We must pray to God about our concerns, pouring out our heart to him and asking him to help us identify the root of our sadness. By doing so, we can have the "peace of God that excels all thought", which "will guard our heart and our mental powers."

4) Let God's Word be a light to your roadway

Psalm 119:105

"Your word is a lamp to my foot,

And a light to my roadway."

Filling our minds with upbuilding thoughts that we glean from Bible accounts can have a positive effect on our thoughts, feelings and actions. So it's beneficial to make it a habit to read God's Word daily.

Based on Awake magazine, September 2010, pages 20-22.

Comforting Scriptures About God

Some people think that God is an abstract or unfeeling entity. But the Holy Scriptures and the Book of Creation provide resounding testimonies as to his true identity: that he is a real person with deep feelings toward his creations. Here are a few Scriptures that tell us about God's personality. 

"Jehovah, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abundant in loving-kindness and truth."

- Exodus 34:6

"His eyes are roving about through all the earth to show his strength in behalf of those whose heart is complete toward him."

- 2 Chronicles 16:9

"You, oh Jehovah, are good and ready to forgive."

- Psalm 86:5

"Jehovah is good to all, and his mercies are all over his works."

- Psalm 145:9

"I, Jehovah, am your God, am grasping your right hand, the One saying to you, 'Do not be afraid. I myself will help you.'"

- Isaiah 41:13

"Blessed be...the Father of tender mercies and the God of all comfort."

- 2 Corinthians 1:3

"We shall assure our hearts before him as regards whatever our hearts may condemn us in, because God is greater than our hearts and knows all things."

- 1 John 3:19,20

Surely, it's comforting to know that God is a real person who knows us so well and cares so much about us and our feelings. This knowledge gives us confidence that we can make him our Best Friend and that we can turn to him for support at any time. 

Wearing our Suit of Armor

In this world filled with wickedness,  it's not easy for one who strives to live a virtuous life to fight his way out of this jungle of a world that has turned dismal. Everywhere there are attacks of wicked forces in different forms, whether outright or subtle. The master enemy, Satan the Devil, is preoccupied with setting up schemes to get the virtuous ones veer from their godly course. Because he knows that his time is short, that soon he will be wiped out of existence, he's doing all he can, employing all means that he can think of, to drag all the righteous ones with him to destruction. He is especially aiming his assaults to those who keep their stand in God's side. He never stops until he succeeds in his evil intent.

Nevertheless, no matter how powerful he is and all his machinations, he can never get us if we wear a special suit of armor designed to fight against him and his destructively wicked missiles. Figuratively wearing this all the time can protect us from all his weapons of destruction. We can keep our ground and come out victorious.

The following is the suit of armor that we should put on:

"Stand firm, therefore, with YOUR loins girded about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness,  and with YOUR feet shod with the equipment of the good news of peace.  Above all things, take up the large shield of faith, with which YOU will be able to quench all the wicked one’s burning missiles.  Also, accept the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the spirit, that is, God’s word,  while with every form of prayer and supplication YOU carry on prayer on every occasion in spirit." - Ephesians 6:14-18

Keep On Asking, And You Will Receive

Some people don't get what they ask for and  can't find what they're seeking for. This is especially true with regards to their pursuits of material things or emotional needs. However, persistence is one good quality in order to get what one truly needs. In the Scripture below, the Son of God tells his listeners,

“Keep on asking, and it will be given you; keep on seeking, and you will find; keep on knocking, and it will be opened to you. For everyone asking receives, and everyone seeking finds, and to everyone knocking it will be opened."

- Matthew 7:7,8

This inspirational passage has its more profound application for us as regards our relationship with our Heavenly Father. It is to Him that we ask for whatever we need, but we must ask them in the right way. For instance, in order to have the basic material things that we need, we have to ask him for qualities that enable us to work in order to produce our material necessities. We also need to ask for wisdom and endurance to cope with difficult situations. If we feel that we are too weary or weak to care for our responsibilities, it is urgent that we ask for strength to carry them out.

It's not enough to ask just once though. As the Scripture shows, we must keep on asking. This doesn't mean that the Almighty doesn't hear us the first time we ask. Of course, He knows what we need even before we ask Him. But if we keep on asking Him, we demonstrate that we are sincere in our requests and that we rely on Him and trust that he can give us what we ask for. So we need to keep on asking, not doubting at all that He will provide for us, and we will surely receive.