Does God hear every prayer?

“Help us to live with clean hands and pure hearts.” (James 4:8)

We would like to think God hears every prayer, but the Bible makes plain that’s not always so. There are times when God may choose not to listen, when He pays no attention to our prayers. Isaiah tells us our iniquities (unconfessed sins) separate us from God so that He will not hear (Isaiah 59:2). David says, “If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened….” (Psalm 66:18) Unconfessed sins, sins that we cherish or hold onto, separate us from close, personal fellowship with God.

James puts it this way: “Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts….” (James 4:8) Isaiah, David, and James all address the impact of unconfessed sins on our prayer lives. We must take initiative to confess our sins and be forgiven (1 John 1:9), to wash our hands and purify our hearts if we want God to hear our prayers and have personal fellowship with us.

That’s why this is such a significant verse to pray. Can anything be more important to us than having our prayers heard (Psalm 65:1) and walking in close fellowship with God (1 John 1:3)?