Hearing Our Prayers

Do you think that the first prayer the Lord listens to is the prayer of salvation? The Bible says if we have iniquity in our heart, the Lord will not hear us. So then would that mean the Lord does not hear the unbelievers prayers? Does that mean He does not hear the prayers of the Jewish people at the wailing wall? I guess He hears them, but does He answer them?

Q. Do you think that the first prayer the Lord listens to is the prayer of salvation? The Bible says if we have iniquity in our heart, the Lord will not hear us. So then would that mean the Lord does not hear the unbelievers prayers? Does that mean He does not hear the prayers of the Jewish people at the wailing wall? I guess He hears them, but does He answer them?

A. Yes. While I believe that the Lord can and does bless unbelievers as a way of calling them, they don’t have the right to petition Him until they’re saved, except to ask for forgiveness and receive salvation. It’s very similar for believers, by the way. We can’t petition Him while we’re out of fellowship, except to ask for forgiveness and receive restoration.

The only living Jews in true fellowship with the Lord today are those in the Church. Even those who follow the Old Covenant to the letter but aren’t in the Church are ceremonially unclean. They have no remedy in that there’s no Temple and no red heifer ashes. Still, I believe the Lord blesses righteous living, whether from a believer or not.