Does God hear the prayers of sinners and unbelievers?

The unconverted may pray to God and be answered.

Having departed from his created estate, it is impossible apart from a work of grace in the soul for man to approach God intelligently. Prayer is therefore properly the resource of those in relationship with God. In spite, however, of his state of alienation man is often found seeking God in prayer. This, all would admit springs from his resourcelessness and an innate sense of the supremacy of God. This is clearly seen in Cain, who after slaying his brother, actually held converse with God, who offered him an outlet from the consequences of his guilt. Natural conscience may own God though morally far from Him and the man of the world, while rejecting the Gospel, may often seek God in prayer regarding things of this life while content to remain outside the pale of blessing and be lost for eternity. The man of faith is rebuked by the worldling (Gen. 12) who owned the hand of God in the matter. The Patriarch falling into the same evil again is reproved by Abimelech to whom God manifested Himself in the matter. Balaam, at a later date, sought permission from God to curse Israel, and though actuated by the basest of motives, had considerable converse with Him. Others will own God though outside the blessing, through those that are in relationship with Him, seeking in that way His help on their behalf. The Pharaoh of the Exodus sought divine aid through Moses, Nebuchadnezzar through Daniel, and Simon the sorcerer through Peter. Such is the heart of man that even a sorcerer may act thus for in some way or another though far from God and hating His people there is a sense that the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. (James 5:16.).

But they have trapped themselves, and the man sees it. Is it not a marvel, he says, that they, the religious leaders, were ignorant of One who had opened the eyes of a blind man? God does not hear sinners, that is, He does not give His approval by miraculous ability to one who is sinful in character. It is one who truly worships God and does His will who is in this way approved by God (vv. 30-31).

The man's answer was as solid as to the point. He discards the attack on himself personally, and treats it as a question between the religious leaders, who avowedly could not tell whence He was Who had wrought a work wholly unexampled as a display of God's power. It was hard, if not impossible, to believe that such a one could be evil, as they had imputed. "We know that God heareth not sinners; but if anyone be God-fearing and do His will, him He heareth." For what can be surer, as a general principle, than that "them that honour Me I will honour, and they that despise Me shall be lightly esteemed"? (1 Sam. 2:30.182) Indeed, this was plain as between Jesus (to take the lowest ground) and the Pharisees, whose moral incapacity astonishes the man. What then remained for his adversaries? Nothing but contemptuous rage, and the extreme blow of the ecclesiastical arm. "They cast him out," but not before they unwittingly testified to the force of his words. "In sins thou wast born wholly,182a and dost thou teach us?" They were too proud to learn.

But the man had a ground to rest on their unbelief deprives them of. He meets them on the point of their knowledge or ignorance by the certainty of the fact on their own principles. The plain reasoning of faith is most sure and conclusive. It is the work of God to give the faith, but faith sees on God's principles the full force of the moral reasoning of God's acts which unbelief sees not, though fully responsible for; for while faith recognises grace exclusively to itself, it vindicates the evidence of God in that act of grace incontrovertibly, and makes the rejection of Jesus not merely the rejection of grace, though it is so, but the rejection of that very perfect righteousness which it assumingly requires, and that in reality and not in form. The point brought their unbelief clearly to the poor man's mind, making their authority though painful yet immaterial, for it is the rejection of their unbelief: "Herein is a marvellous thing, that ye know not whence he is, and yet" (which they acknowledge as a fact) "he hath opened mine eyes." And then, while their not drawing the conclusion was their condemnation, he reasons on their own acknowledged principles, turns Jew with them: "We know that God heareth not sinners," etc. We know these principles. Here is a miracle without parallel, a great work. "If this man were not of God," for the conclusions of faith are positive, "He could do nothing."

We do not consider that John 9:31 has anything to do with the matter to which you refer. The Holy Spirit records what the blind man said to the Pharisees, but we believe that God is ever ready to hear the cry of any poor needy soul that looks to Him through Jesus. We are more and more convinced of the vast differences between the cold dogmas of theology and the loving heart of a Savior-God. There is a rigid, repulsive manner of using the letter of certain texts of Scripture, with which we have no sympathy. We believe it to be contrary to the spirit of the gospel and the mind of Christ. “God is love.” Precious words! True, He has His counsels and purposes, but the activity of His nature is love and therefore all are welcome to come. He is a Savior-God and “there is one mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus.” Go on, therefore, beloved, to press upon your fellow-sinners, with all possible earnestness, their solemn responsibility to flee now from the wrath to come and lay hold upon eternal life.

But the apostle enlarges here upon the value of prayer. "The fervent supplication of the righteous man," he says, "availeth much." Plainly, "the righteous man" here is one who is so simply, out and out for God, so that there is nothing to hinder the confidence in Him which this supposes. Elijah is adduced as an example here, a man who stood for God when all Israel was departing from Him; but, as he notes here, a man of like passions with ourselves — notes it, evidently, for our encouragement. We are apt to make exceptions of such men to excuse ourselves, alas, even from the blessing which was theirs in consequence of what they were. His infirmities are made known to us in the very record given to us of his faith; but the man of God was in him most eminent. Thus it was for the honor of God that "he prayed fervently that it might not rain;" not to serve any end of his own apart from this; and such prayers are of the sort that have wisdom in them, and secure answers. Thus he prayed, and it rained not on the earth for three years and six months; and again he prayed, and the heaven gave rain and the earth brought forth her fruit. The power of prayer can never be separated from the character of the man who prays, although God is pitiful, and can hear any man in his extremity; that is true, but that is not the prayer that is recorded here, or the prayer of which we can really say that it has power in it.

It would have been as wrong for Cornelius to say, before he heard Peter's address, that he was forgiven, as for you and me now, if believing on Jesus, to say we do not know it. But although Cornelius knew not this great blessing, it is clear that most fervently he desired it, for he tells Peter that the angel had said to him, "Cornelius, thy prayer is heard," (Acts 10:31). What does that mean? That God read his heart, and knew what he desired — light. Bear in mind that he was not a Jewish proselyte. He had not embraced Judaism, though the Jews evidently thought well of him; but clearly he had never bowed to the yoke of the law. Christianity had just begun to be heard of, and the Jews loudly claimed to be still under the law of God, so that I can understand this pious man wondering where the truth lay.

THE FIRST THING in the chapter is the angelic ministry to Cornelius by which he is directed to send to Joppa and call Peter. No difficulty arose here, for Cornelius immediately did as he was told. The angel, you notice, did not cut a rather lengthy story short by himself telling the message to Cornelius. The message of grace can only be rightly told by a man who is himself a subject of grace. So Peter must be called. God had respect to the prayers and alms of Cornelius, since they expressed the sincere seeking of his heart after God. If, after hearing the Gospel, he had ignored its message and gone on with his prayers and alms, it would have been a different matter. Then they would not have "come up for a memorial before God."

Yet Cornelius desired the blessing of God's forgiveness.; he was a sinful man, but he prayed always, and he was heard.

Yet Cornelius desired the blessing of God's forgiveness; he was a sinful man, but he prayed always, and he was heard.