A: Dear Benjamin,

The Bible says that when we pray, God “inclines” His ear (Psalm 40:). That means He bends down to hear us. Now I’m not sure if He actually bends down, but the point the Bible is making is that God is always interested in hearing our sincere prayers. He promises “Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known” (Jeremiah 33:3). And Jesus promises us that “whoever comes to me I will never cast out” (John 6:37).

What we need to be concerned about is when we are not sincere in our prayers. The Bible warns us that “If one turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer is an abomination” (Proverbs 28:9). And in the Psalms it is written “If I had ?cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened” (Ps 66:18). This means that if we are making our pleas to God while at the same time refusing to follow God’s instruction, or choosing to willfully rebel against God, our prayers are not sincere, and God cannot answer them.

Your friend, Pastor Howard