When do people listen to me?

1 Samuel 3:19As Samuel grew up, the Lord was with him, and everything Samuel said proved to be reliable.

1 Kings 10:24People from every nation came to consult him [Solomon] and to hear the wisdom God had given him.

Acts 16:25Around midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening.

People are attracted to godly wisdom. While our ungodly neighbors may not identify it as God’s wisdom, they will want it because it makes so much sense.

Psalm 66:18If I had not confessed the sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.

Isaiah 59:2It’s your sins that have cut you off from God. Because of your sins, he has turned away and will not listen anymore.

Zechariah 7:13“Since they refused to listen when I called to them, I would not listen when they called to me,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.

James 4:3Even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong—you want only what will give you pleasure.

When we persist in our sinful ways of life and turn away from God, he will not listen to our requests because they will all come from selfish motives. If we are not sincere when we come to God in prayer, our prayers will be meaningless and without effect.