The very familiar slogan during the restoration movement was "we speak where the Bible speaks, and are silent where the Bible is silent." Today, we hear brethren say, "We speak as the oracles of God." Both of these statements are good and we should certainly practice doing such; but I am afraid that we are not. We are so filled with the things that we have ''always" heard or "believed" that we accept them without making a study of the Bible for ourself, to see if the Bible really teaches such, and if we are using the right verses of scripture to prove it.

One such thing that I have in mind is the subject of "Whose prayers does the Lord hear?" We have always heard brethren quote John 9:31, "We know that God heareth not sinners; if any man be a worshipper of God, and do his will, him he heareth," and say that God does not hear the prayers of anyone that has not obeyed the first principles of the gospel. Does this passage of scripture teach such doctrine?

If you will notice the setting of John 9, you will find that Jesus had restored sight to a man born blind. When the people realized that the blind beggar had received his sight, there was much talk in the city concerning the healing, and the man that performed the miracle. This man, the one that had been healed, was taken to the Pharisees to be questioned about how he had received his sight. When he told the Pharisees that Jesus of Nazareth had healed him, some of them said, "This man is not from God because he keepeth not the sabbath. But others said, how can a man that is a sinner do such signs?" (John 9:16). The Pharisees then went to the parents of the man to see if he was actually the man that was born blind. They said, "yes, he is the one." Then the Pharisees went back to the man to get him to tell them again what had happened and what he thought of Jesus. The man, born blind, refused to tell them the story again. He said that the Pharisees had failed to believe him the second time.

The Pharisees were reasoning among themselves about Christ. They said that they knew God had spoken to Moses but they did not know if He had spoken to Christ. The blind man, trying to make the Pharisees understand that Jesus was a man from God said, "We know that God heareth not sinners: But if any man be a worshipper of God, and do his will, him he heareth" (John 9:31). The question under consideration was whether or not Jesus had the approval of God and the power from God to do the miracles that He was doing. They knew that Moses had the approval of God or else it would have been impossible for him to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt. The question was not a matter of praying unto God, but of having the approval and power from God.

Another passage of scripture that is used along with John 9:31 is I Peter 3:12. "For the eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his ears unto their supplication: But the face of the Lord is upon them that do evil." This passage of scripture is a quotation from Psalms 34:15,16. This verse of scripture, as well as John 9:31, has nothing to do with prayers of an alien sinner. If you will make a study of the different passages of scriptures in the Old Testament which deal with God not hearing the prayers, cries, and supplications of the evil ones, you will find that they all refer to the Jew, God's own people, when they failed to obey. (Here are a few: Deut. 1:45; II Chron. 7:14; Prov. 15:29; Isa. 1:15; Micah 3:4).

The point of Peter's statement is, that God will not hear the prayers of His own child when he returns to sin. He has left the fold of safety, and has nothing to pray for until he repents of his sin, and then he may pray to God to forgive him of his past sins. This was the example of the Jew. When they turned from God to follow the way of the world, God refused to answer their prayers. When they realized their error and repented, God heard and answered them. This is the lesson we learn from Acts 8:18-22; James 5:15, 16; and I John 3:22.

If John 9:31 and I Peter 3:12 do not deal with the prayers of an alien sinner, then what verses do? As far as I know there are no verses of scripture that deal directly with the subject. There are several verses of scripture that throw some light on the subject through the things they have reference to. We need to realize that prayer is man's way of communication with God to offer his thanks for the blessings that he has received, and to tell God his need so He will reward him with more spiritual blessings, which only His children receive.

In Ephesians 1:3, Paul says that God blesses us with all spiritual blessings in Christ. We can see from this that in order for us to receive the blessings of a spiritual nature, we must be in Christ. In Galatians 3:26, 27 Paul says that we are in Christ or have put on Christ when we are baptized. When we put these three verses together, we learn that only baptized believers can receive spiritual blessings, even though all men receive physical blessings.

Another question that is always raised in connection with this subject concerns the prayer of Cornelius that we find in Acts 10:4, 31. The Lord spoke to Cornelius, by an angel, and said, "Thy prayers and thine alms are gone up for a memorial before God" (Acts 10:4). Many brethren will stop here and say that his prayer was a memorial, but was not answered. But in verse 5, the angel said, "And now send men to Joppa, and fetch one Simon, who is surnamed Peter." Was his prayer answered? Yes, it was answered. We learn from God's word by three ways. They are, COMMAND, EXAMPLE, and NECESSARY INFERENCE. The scripture tells us that Cornelius was a devout men, and that he prayed to God always. He was a man that was trying to do God's will but was ignorant of how to do it. They had no written word at this time, so God sent the angel. The angel didn't save the man nor did he tell the man what to do to be saved, but the angel told Cornelius to send for Peter and he would tell him what to do to be saved (Acts 11:14).

I believe it is necessarily implied in the text that his prayer was heard and answered in that a way was made possible for him to have a chance to obey God and be saved. Some will even say that his prayer was not heard, but notice a little further. In verses 31-33, when Peter had reached the house of Cornelius, Cornelius told him that the angel had said his prayer was heard ... and Now therefore we are all here present in the sight of God, to hear all things that have been commanded thee of the Lord." In verses 34, 35 we find that Peter preached the gospel to Cornelius and the others present. In verse 48, they were commanded to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Cornelius was an alien sinner. He prayed to God and a way was opened for him to know the truth. He obeyed and became free from sin, and a child of God.

I am of the understanding that if an individual is really honest and sincere in trying to know the true way of the Lord, and prays for God to give him wisdom, and to help him know the truth, that a way will be opened for him to learn and obey. I do not mean that God will send an angel, as He did to Cornelius, but through the normal circumstances of life, that person will come into contact with the truth and will have the opportunity to obey. Jesus said, "If any man willeth to do his will, he shall know of the teaching, whether it is of God, or whether I speak from myself. He that speaketh from himself seeketh his own glory" (John 7:17, 18). Jesus was talking to a group of Jews, informing them that His message was from God, and if they really wanted to know it, they could. This basic principle taught here is true today. I know of no verse of scripture that this position will contradict. Do you? We need to be careful to study the context before we make an application of any verse of scripture. Read this article again before you disagree. Friends, we are in error when we misapply a verse of scripture to prove a point that may be right in itself; just as we are in error when we teach false doctrine.

Truth Magazine VIII: 7, pp. 21-22 April 1964