" Because I have called and you refused; I have stretched out my hand and no one regarded; Because you disdained all my counsel, and would have none of my rebuke: " I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your terror comes, when your terror comes like a storm, and your destruction comes like a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come upon you. Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; they will seek me diligently, BUT THEY WILL NOT FIND ME." (Proverbs 1:24-28) " As it is written in the Law of Moses, all this disaster has come upon us; yet we have not made our prayer before the Lord our God, that we might turn from our iniquities and understand Your truth. Therefore the Lord has kept the disaster in mind, and brought it upon us; for the Lord our God is righteous in all the works which He does, though we have not obeyed His voice." (Daniel 9:13-14)
Even if God HEARS our prayers he may not give us what we want because we make a selfish request to indulge our human nature: "You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures." (James 4:3)
God is ultimately merciful and WILL hear those who humbly call on him: "Bow down Your ear, O Lord, hear me; For I am poor and needy . . . Be merciful to me, O Lord, for I cry to You all day long. . . . For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, and abundant in mercy to all those who call upon You. (Psalm 86:1, 3, 5) " . . . But on this one will I look: On him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at My word." (Isaiah 66:2)
How can we tremble at His word and what does that mean? Read what the Apostle Paul told King Herod Agrippa about his behavior: " . . . but declared first to those in Damascus and in Jerusalem, and throughout all the region of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent, turn to God, and do works befitting repentance." (Acts 26:20) "Works befitting repentance" means to change our ways to God's ways. When God sees someone who is truly sincere He listens to them and will answer their prayers: "Then Peter said to them, 'Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit (through which God helps us). For the promise (of helping us) is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.' " (Acts 2:38-39) Jesus said: "I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance. " (meaning to change one's life). (Luke 5:32) "Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents." (Luke 15:10) And when one changes their life and listens to God and begins to do the things which God requires of us, all for our own good, THEN God hears us and answers us! Anyone can find themselves at a time in their life where God does not seem to hear them. However, we can be heard and have our prayers answered when we pray in the right frame of mind. We need to become submissive to God and choose his ways which reap good results in our life rather than continue in the wrong ways of living which bring on disastrous results. When we "get right with God" He provides us with confidence, hope and assurance that He will HEAR and ANSWER our prayers, and provides us the answers and help we need to live a better way of life: "Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him. " (1John 5:14-15) "Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves . . . And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it. If you love Me, keep My commandments. " (John 14:11, 13-15) And finally, "Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. " (Galatians 6:7-8) "Now we know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does His will, He hears him. " (John 9:31) Always remember that God IS love and as a loving parent sometimes corrects us for our own good: "As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent." (Revelation 3:19) We sincerely hope these scriptures have helped shed some light on your question. |