Does God hear your prayers while you are in sin?

by Matt Slick

God, who knows all things, hears the prayers of everyone. If he didn't, he would not be all knowing (1 John 3:20). The question is really whether or not God will answer a person's prayers while he is abiding in sin. For the most part, the answer is no.

Sin is rebellion against God, and while we are in sin we are not in the will of God. So if God is to answer our prayers, our prayers must be according to his will not ours (1 John 5:14), and when we are sinning we are carrying out our will not God's will. So, even though God will hear all of our prayers, while we are in sin we are not in his will and our prayers will not be answered -- at least not if they are sinfully based prayers.

On the other hand, God certainly hears and answers the prayers of the sinner who seeks to repent from sin and who asks God to cleanse him yet again of his sin. God is, after all, loving and forgiving.