God hears only the Contrite
By David Cox

[PC21] v3 2018
www.coxtracts.com/pc21
This brochure can be freely photocopied and printed

In God hears the contrite, we examine the problem of why God does not hear some prayers, but actually, He does hear, but he doesn’t act on those prayers. This is because of the attitude and life of the person praying, he is arrogant and not contrite and humble. TOPICS: My will or God’s will? | God does not tolerate Arrogant People | How to get my request? | Mercy is Essential | The Spiritual war over kneeling

Isa 66:2… saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.
Prov. 28:13 He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.

Many people complain that God does not care about their problems. They pray to God “a lot”, but God does not pay attention to their prayers. God imposes conditions to hear and answer our prayers, and if we do not fulfill those conditions, God does not act.

Although it seems that God does not listen, yes, he ALWAYS has listened to you and answered your requests, although His answer was “NO,” or “not for now … wait” because now is not the appropriate time, or you are not asking for the right things. You need to fight in prayer to understand how you should pray.

My Will or His Will

1John 5:14 And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:

It is a pity that we do not understand what the will of God is, what God’s work is, and how God works. Today’s typical Christians do not understand that they must change their wills and desires so that they are in conformity with the will of God. The Christian world speaks of communion with God and of praising God, but in reality, they do not know anything about God, they do not know what are the priorities of God, and what is more important, how to get the material things of this world from God.

Jer. 9:24 But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the LORD.
1John 5:20 And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ.This is the true God, and eternal life.

When a person asks for something from God, he does it in one of two ways: as magic (using the correct lever) or as a beloved child (who, by the established relationship, asks for a favor). Magic is simply a rule or formula with which you learn to manipulate life to get what you want. It’s like a chemical principle, it’s a sequence, you do this … and that happens. Magic denies knowing the reason and conforming to God’s overall plan and will, you just simply adopt the procedure if it’s magic.

John 17:3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.

To know God as a beloved child is to first love Him, and then change morally to be as He is. This knowledge has something alive FROM HIM, living within us. This is the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ, who changes us morally into God’s image. When we insist on fulfilling our will regardless of what is His will, so then we enter the world of witchcraft and magic instead of knowing God, and seek to align ourselves with his moral character.

1Sam 15:22 And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. 23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king.

God punished King Saul for his attitude of belittling and rejecting the will of God. Before answering the question, how do I get my request? We must honestly answer the question. Is my request really God’s will? How do I know? With what verses can I support my response? Do not defend yourself by saying that God wants the good for his children or He wants to give them anything that they want, but rather, what biblical principles and what moral character are involved with my request? For example, I can order a very expensive and luxurious car. My thought is that if God gives me this, it is that he loves me very much. But here is the immoral character of pride, boasting in front of others, the misuse of God’s resources, the greed of each one of us, etc. You get angry with God because he does not give you this answer but some other answer. But first the character problem has to be solved. The secret to achieving something is not the number of prayers, nor the form, but who you are (character-wise and conduct-wise) and how you are, and your personal relationship with God.

God does not Tolerate Arrogant People

Ps 101:5… him that hath an high look and a proud heart will not I suffer.

Job 40:12 Look on every one that is proud, and bring him low; and tread down the wicked in their place.

Isa 2:11 The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day.

God is against arrogant people because they do not humble themselves before His Greater Being. Their pride is seen in their relationships with other human beings and this is because they do not respect God or his moral character, and this is not tolerated by God.

Ps 10:4 The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts.

There is a very deep link between sin and haughtiness. When a person imposes his will “absolutely has to be my way“, then it leads to sin. It is a sin to think that one knows better than God, what is best for our life. God abhors this pride. God is openly against such people and attitudes. If we pray with this attitude, God will not listen to us.

Matt 11:29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

How do I get my Request?

Ps 34:18 The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.

Ps 51:17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.

Isa 57:15 For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.

God does not respond to arrogance, arrogance, or haughtiness, but only to humble and meek people. God does not draw near to people who think that their will is more important and correct than what God thinks. To “get” your requests from God, your attitude towards God is the most important thing. The sky closes when your attitude is wrong. When God sees a contrite attitude of meekness and humility, in which one even fears to raise their voice too loudly to God to ask for something, then the Lord responds to this humility (Lk 18:13). It is worse when one demands arrogantly that God give us something without considering how He sees our request. God covers his ears and punishes all arrogance. The power of prayer is first built on an attitude of surrender to the will of God, a deep desire to know him, adore him and imitate his moral character in our lives and obey His will.

Mercy is Essential

Matt 6:12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. 14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: 15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

Salvation is logically that God forgives our sins. This forgiveness needs to be so great that we want it for ourselves and we want to practice it with others. God wants us to seek his moral character (forgiveness) so that it is an integral part of ourselves. Forgiveness, as a moral character trait, is something you seek in God (so God forgives your sins), but you need to also practice it in your own life. You seek it with priority because you esteem it above everything else in life. If not, then, God is not going to forgive your sins! We are saved by our faith in Jesus our Savior, but this faith must include true contrition of the soul, heart and spirit. That saving faith has to be accompanied by humility and contrition. This must be plainly seen in our lives as we interact with others. God is paying attention to you because you gave your life to Him. In theology, this is called repentance, and it is an essential factor in being saved (Luke 13:5). God calls everyone to repent (Acts 17:30). This same key to salvation is also essential in our devotional life and in our prayers to God.

2Chr 7:14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

God requires us to change to the right character; and God demands it before hearing our requests. This implies accepting and being in accordance with God’s will for our life, whatever it may be. This involves recognizing the wisdom of God. He knows better than we what we really need and He knows how we should live our lives. Everything revolves around our humble attitude before God.

Prayer itself is an act of humiliation. Therefore, let’s kneel down and bend our knee to the Greater Being. If we do not understand this essential element of prayer (that is, the secret to get our request), then “prayer will never work” for us. We would pray more and more but nothing will happen for us. This is the sad situation of many Christians in their devotional lives. Everything is because we do not recognize the wisdom of God and our own ignorance and incapacity.

We think we can, we make plans and we try to achieve what we want, but our plans never go well because we do not get along with the will of God.

Isa 45:23 I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.

All spiritual warfare revolves around our heart, whether it is hard and uplifted or it is soft and bends before God. Part of the divine purpose is to cause us a need, then when we ask the Lord, and it gives him joy when He answers us. This drives us to God. God requires that we humble ourselves in our will and attitude before Him as the Greater Being. He is someone who is wiser than us, Satan, refuses to do this, and for this will be punished eternally. Do you want to follow his example and go to his same destination? This condition of humility in prayer is exactly what moves God to listen to us.

Isa 66:2…saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.

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