In my study of God’s Word, I’ve come to the conclusion that God does not respond to the prayers of an “alien sinner” when asking for God’s blessings on himself.\u00a0 However, what are your thoughts on whether God responds to an “alien sinners” prayers when praying for someone else? For example, praying for someone who’s extremely ill, especially if the other person is a child of God?<\/p>\n\t
Isaiah explains clearly that when a person sins and remains in that sin, his sins separate him from God. “Behold, the LORD’S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; nor His ear heavy, that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear<\/em>” (Isaiah 59:1-2). Thus the problem isn’t a restriction on God’s ability but on man’s refusal to conform to God’s will. This is because God finds the prayers of the lawless disgusting. “One who turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer is an abomination<\/em>” (Proverbs 28:9).<\/p>\n The blind man whom Jesus healed, summed it up well, “Now we know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does His will, He hears him<\/em>” (John 9:31).<\/p>\n Nor will God listen to the prayers of a person contemplating sin. “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear<\/em>” (Psalm 66:18). James warns of much the same, “You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures<\/em>” (James 4:3). I’ve had many people ask if they should pray whether their girlfriend or boyfriend is the one they should marry. Meanwhile, I learn that they are sleeping with said girlfriend or boyfriend. Why would anyone expect God to give approval to a sexually immoral relationship? Yet such questions do not seem to enter these people’s minds.<\/p>\n Yet, I don’t tell people who have not made their lives right with God that they cannot pray. I tell them it is foolish to pray for approval of their sins or to think that prayer alone is going atone for their sins. They have to leave their sins and mold their lives to God’s will. If they haven’t become a child of God as God specified, they need to do so. If they are a child of God and have strayed, they need to straighten up. But even in the process, if they pray, at least their mind is focused on God. See the example of Saul. “So the Lord said to him, “Arise and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for one called Saul of Tarsus, for behold, he is praying<\/em>” (Acts 9:11).<\/p>\n If a person who is in sin is praying for good to happen, they might not gain an audience with God, but at least they are focusing their thoughts in the right direction.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Question: In my study of God’s Word, I’ve come to the conclusion that God does not respond to the prayers of an “alien sinner” when asking for God’s blessings on himself.\u00a0 However, what are your thoughts on whether God responds to an “alien sinners” prayers when praying for someone else? For example, praying for someone…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[20],"tags":[1510],"class_list":["post-16366","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-prayers"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":24123,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/does-god-hear-the-prayers-of-those-who-are-not-yet-saved\/","url_meta":{"origin":16366,"position":0},"title":"Does God hear the prayers of those who are not yet saved?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 22, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I am writing, after reading\u00a0your article, wondering your understanding of the Scriptures that point to God willing not to hear because of sins or God not hearing a sinner\u2019s prayer, or even yet, God hears open to the prayers of the righteous? From those Scriptures I arrive at the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":15722,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-do-you-think-about-rugged-prayers\/","url_meta":{"origin":16366,"position":1},"title":"What do you think about rugged prayers?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 18, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: What do you think about aggressive prayers or rugged type of prayers? Someone told me that there are situations that demand ruggedness, such as shouting, screaming, and crying unto God in prayer and not being silent. That this is the only way to shake heaven. That your silent prayers\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":24310,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-sinners-prayer\/","url_meta":{"origin":16366,"position":2},"title":"The Sinner’s Prayer","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 3, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"by Bob Myhan The so-called sinner\u2019s prayer is the prayer of an alien sinner for the forgiveness of sins. An alien sinner is one who has never been saved and is not yet a citizen in the kingdom of God. The sinner\u2019s prayer has had many incarnations over the years\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/prayer.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":66670,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-is-an-alien-believer-or-an-alien-sinner\/","url_meta":{"origin":16366,"position":3},"title":"What is an alien believer or an alien sinner?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 19, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello, I was reading somewhere in an article mentioning the \"alien believer.\" I am not sure what it actually means. I have noticed there are two different persons: \"alien sinner\" and \"alien believer.\" My question is: Cornelius, in Acts 10:2, was godly and had a fear of God in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":91428,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-worship-acceptable-if-the-one-leading-it-is-a-hidden-sinner\/","url_meta":{"origin":16366,"position":4},"title":"Is worship acceptable if the one leading it is a hidden sinner?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 21, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Dear sir, I hope this email finds you well. In reference to Romans 6:1-2 and I Timothy 2:8: If someone is leading any of the acts of worship and, unknown to the church, the person is in sin but continues to lead the service, does it hinder the church\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":29487,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/does-god-always-hear-our-prayers\/","url_meta":{"origin":16366,"position":5},"title":"Does God always hear our prayers?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 11, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: In John 11:42 it says God always hears you, but in the verse, you showed me in \"Should we pray for Satan's salvation?\" it says that God said that if people were to pray for the extreme idolaters then He would not hear their cries out to him? Answer:\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16366","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16366"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16366\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16366"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16366"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16366"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}