Often people feel that God does not hear or answer their prayers. In this article we will see how you can be assured of answered prayer and why the prayers of some people are not answered.
John 9:31 says, “Now we know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does His will, He hears him.” Proverbs 28:9 says, “One who turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be an abomination.” And Psalm 66:18: “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear.”
God gives a warning message to the people today who are in spiritual Babylon. He says, “ ‘Go forth from Babylon! Flee from the Chaldeans! With a voice of singing, declare, proclaim this, utter it to the end of the earth; say, “The Lord has redeemed His servant Jacob” ’ ” (Isaiah 48:20)!
Jeremiah had a lot more to say about this. “Move from the midst of Babylon, go out of the land of the Chaldeans; and be like the rams before the flocks” (Jeremiah 50:8). “The voice of those who flee and escape from the land of Babylon declares in Zion the vengeance of the Lord our God, the vengeance of His temple” (verse 28).
“Flee from the midst of Babylon, and every one save his life! Do not be cut off in her iniquity, for this is the time of the Lord’s vengeance; He shall recompense her” (Jeremiah 51:6).
“Babylon was a golden cup in the Lord’s hand, that made all the earth drunk. The nations drank her wine; therefore the nations are deranged. … We would have healed Babylon, but she is not healed. Forsake her, and let us go everyone to his own country” (verses 7, 9).
And in verse 45, he said, “My people, go out of the midst of her! And let everyone deliver himself from the fierce anger of the Lord.”
These messages recorded in the Old Testament are repeated for the last time in the book of Revelation. The second angel said, “And another angel followed, saying, ‘Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she has made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication’ ” (Revelation 14:8).
Even more to the point, Revelation 18:1 to 4 says, “After these things I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was illuminated with his glory.
“And he cried mightily with a loud voice, saying, ‘Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and has become a dwelling place of demons, a prison for every foul spirit, and a cage for every unclean and hated bird! For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich through the abundance of her luxury.’ And I heard another voice from heaven saying, ‘Come out of her, My people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues.’ ” This by the way is the voice of Jesus Christ, Himself.
We know from these Scriptures that during the end time, the time in which we are living, many of God’s children will be in Babylon and are called to get out of there and go back to Zion or spiritual Jerusalem. Jeremiah says, “You who have escaped the sword, get away! Do not stand still! Remember the Lord afar off, and let Jerusalem come into your mind” (Jeremiah 51:50).
“ ‘In those days and in that time,’ says the Lord, ‘The children of Israel shall come, they and the children of Judah together; with continual weeping they shall come, and seek the Lord their God. They shall ask the way to Zion, with their faces toward it, saying, “Come and let us join ourselves to the Lord in a perpetual covenant that will not be forgotten.” My people have been lost sheep, their shepherds have led them astray, they have turned them away on the mountains. They have gone from mountain to hill; they have forgotten their resting place. All who found them have devoured them; and their adversaries said, “We have not offended, because they have sinned against the Lord, the habitation of justice, the Lord, the hope of their fathers” ’ ” (Jeremiah 50:4–7).
The children of Israel, of course, are God’s children, those who make a profession of the Christian faith. There is a lot of confusion within the religious world today regarding the true Israel. However, the Bible makes it clear in Galatians 3:28 and 29 where it says, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”
All who profess Christianity, whether Jew or non-Jew, are part of spiritual Israel. But to those Jews who refuse to accept Christ, Jesus said, “Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it” (Matthew 21:43).
Babylon is going to be destroyed and God’s people, all those who profess Christianity and who are still in Babylon, are called out or they will be destroyed with it.
What does it mean to be in Babylon, and what does it mean to come out? In The Great Controversy, page 384, Ellen White quotes a Presbyterian theologian, Thomas Guthrie, from his book titled The Gospel in Ezekiel, page 237. She wrote, “Concerning the separation of the Presbyterian Church from Rome, Dr. Guthrie writes: ‘Three hundred years ago, our church, with an open Bible on her banner, and this motto, “Search the Scriptures,” on her scroll, marched out from the gates of Rome.’ ” Then he asks the significant question: “Did they come clean out of Babylon?” Notice the word “clean” is in italics in the original. If not, they are still in Babylon.
Adventists have preached that Babylon represents those religious organizations or churches that practice lawlessness and also teach people to break the law of God. The reason for terming these organizations Babylon is because of their violation of the longest commandment, which is found right in the heart of the ten commandments (Exodus 20:3–17).
We read in Jeremiah 50 that in the last days, God’s people are going to flee from Babylon. An important concept to understand is that Babylon, in Bible prophecy, represents a way of life that is in violation with the law of God.
Paul said, “Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: ‘I will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they shall be My people.’ Therefore ‘Come out from among them and be separate,’ says the Lord, ‘Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you’ ” (2 Corinthians 6:14–17).
Then He says, “ ‘I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters,’ says the Lord Almighty” (verse 18).
What is this Babylonian way of life?
Babylon is not just some system or organization, but a way of life that is practiced by it. Some characteristics of Babylon are:
- It shows no mercy or consideration to other people. The Bible says, “I was angry with My people, I have profaned My inheritance, and given them into your hand. You showed them no mercy; on the elderly you laid your yoke very heavily” (Isaiah 47:6). James 2:13 says that the person who does not show mercy will not receive mercy.
- It is given to pleasure. “Therefore hear this now, you who are given to pleasures, who dwell securely, who say in your heart, ‘I am, and there is no one else besides me; I shall not sit as a widow, nor shall I know the loss of children’; But these two things shall come to you in a moment, in one day: the loss of children and widowhood. They shall come upon you in their fullness because of the multitude of your sorceries, for the great abundance of your enchantments” (Isaiah 47:8, 9).
Pleasure itself is not wrong, but there are both righteous and unrighteous pleasures. The Bible talks about people who have pleasure in unrighteousness in 2 Thessalonians 2:9–12.
- It is involved in a multitude of sorceries and an abundance of enchantments.
“Stand now with your enchantments and the multitude of your sorceries, in which you have labored from your youth—perhaps you will be able to profit, perhaps you will prevail” (Isaiah 47:12).
Babylon is engaged in pleasure that involves sorcery, which is contact with evil spirits or teachings of the devil.
- It is a destroyer of God’s people. “Because you were glad, because you rejoiced, you destroyers of My heritage, because you have grown fat like a heifer threshing grain, and you bellow like bulls” (Jeremiah 50:11).
Also, “As Babylon has caused the slain of Israel to fall, so at Babylon the slain of all the earth shall fall” (Jeremiah 51:49).
- It contends against God’s people. “You have indeed been trapped, O Babylon, and you were not aware; you have been found and also caught, because you have contended against the Lord” (Jeremiah 50:24).
- It is full of mixed peoples. “A sword is against their horses, against their chariots, and against all the mixed peoples who are in her midst; and they will become like women. A sword is against her treasures, and they will be robbed” (Jeremiah 50:37).
- It made the nations drunk. “Babylon was a golden cup in the Lord’s hand, that made all the earth drunk (with her philosophy). The nations drank her wine; therefore the nations are deranged” (Jeremiah 51:7).
- It is very wealthy. Jeremiah 51:13 says, she is “abundant in treasures,” and also, there are several texts that say Babylon is full of covetousness and pride. (See Jeremiah 50:31 and 32.)
- It destroys. “ ‘Behold, I am against you [Babylon], O destroying mountain, who destroys all the earth,’ says the Lord. ‘And I will stretch out My hand against you, roll you down from the rocks, and make you a burnt mountain’” (Jeremiah 51:25). Compare this with the second trumpet in Revelation 8 and 9.
- It is full of violence. “Let the violence done to me and my flesh be upon Babylon, the inhabitant of Zion will say, ‘and my blood be upon the inhabitants of Chaldea’” (Jeremiah 51:35)!
Verse 46 says, “Lest your heart faint, and you fear the rumor that will be heard in the land (a rumor will come one year, and after that, in another year a rumor will come, and violence in the land, ruler against ruler).”
The characteristics of Babylon can be simply summarized:
- She is given to pleasures.
- These pleasures involve sorcery, that is, contact with evil spirits.
- She is full of violence.
This is contrary to the characteristic of heaven, about which we are told: “Violence shall no longer be heard in the land” (Isaiah 60:18). That being the case, it would eliminate much of the popular entertainment and sports events that so occupy the minds and so much time of the people now. People often spend hours being entertained by things they would never dream of being involved in themselves. Can you imagine Jesus participating and enjoying things that He condemned? We are told that He could not see a wrong act without feeling pain.
We are living in the last days. It is time to quit playing games and think seriously about getting ready for Jesus to come. Many, even though they are part of the remnant church and believe the three angels’ messages, are deceived being mentally still in Babylon. If you enjoy watching sin, then sin still has an attraction for you. You still have the spirit of Babylon and are called to get out.
Sorcery, practiced in its many varied ways, has always been the devil’s religion. It always involves secrecy where only the initiated really know what is going on. People participate in it claiming its innocence.
My dear friend, there are many people who tell us they are Christians preparing for the second coming of Christ while their feet are still planted on the road to destruction. There is much more to getting out of Babylon than leaving some church organization that is disobeying the fourth commandment. The philosophy of Babylon has to be eliminated from the mind in order to be free.
Prayers from those who stubbornly refuse the call of Jesus to come out of Babylon will not be answered. The Bible describes it this way: “Then they will begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us!’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us’ ” (Luke 23:30)!
Ellen White wrote, “Satan is playing the game of life for their [the youth’s] souls, taking from them the talents that God has given them, and placing in their stead his own evil attributes. It is his effort to lead men to ignore God. He seeks to engross and absorb the mind so completely that God will find no place in the thoughts. He does not wish people to have a knowledge of their Maker, and he is well pleased if he can set in operation games and theatrical performances that will so confuse the senses of the youth that God and heaven will be forgotten.” The Review and Herald, October 3, 1912.
In another writing she said, “There are amusements which we cannot approve, because Heaven condemns them—such as dancing, card-playing, chess, checkers, &c. These amusements open the door for great evil. Their tendencies are not beneficial, but their influence upon the mind is to excite and produce in some minds a passion for those plays which lead to gambling, and dissolute lives. All such plays should be condemned by Christians. Something should be substituted in the place of these amusements. Something can be invented, perfectly harmless.” Ibid., October 8, 1867.
“Card playing should be prohibited. The associations and tendencies are dangerous. The prince of the powers of darkness presides in the gaming room and wherever there is card playing. Evil angels are familiar guests in these places.” Testimonies, vol. 4, 652.
“I cannot believe a true follower of Christ will touch a card for amusement, nor read novels, nor attend balls and theaters. If they have learned of Him who is meek and lowly of heart, they will have disrelish for former pleasures and amusements.” The Review and Herald, February 20, 1866.
O friend, consider the destination for which you are preparing by the choices you make day by day.
“Satan has invented many ways in which to squander the means which God has given. Card-playing, betting, gambling, horse-racing, and theatrical performances are all of his own inventing, and he has led men to carry forward these amusements as zealously as though they were winning for themselves the precious boon of eternal life.” Ibid., March 31, 1896.
“Dancing, as practiced at the present day, is detrimental to the health of soul and body. Theater-going, dancing, card-playing, gambling, inebriety, are all steps in the path of vice and dissipation.” The Signs of the Times, February 23, 1882.
Some years ago, I got much pleasure flying airplanes. After my brother and his family were killed in an airplane crash, my feelings were changed. Flight instructors teach you that your attitude will determine your altitude. The same is true in a spiritual sense, your attitude will determine whether you are heading up or down.
Please do not think that I am teaching that people should not enjoy any recreation or amusements.
Ellen White wrote in 1867, “I saw that our holidays should not be spent in patterning after the world, yet they should not be passed by unnoticed, for this will bring dissatisfaction to our children. On these days when there is danger of our children partaking of evil influences, and becoming corrupted by the pleasures and excitement of the world, let the parents study to get up something to take the place of more dangerous amusements. Give your children to understand you have their happiness and best good in view.
“Let families unite together and leave their occupations which have taxed them physically and mentally, and make an excursion out of the cities and villages a few miles into the country.” The Review and Herald, October 8, 1867.
For optimal health, time must be set aside for recreation and relaxation. As in every life decision, there are choices to be made whether righteous or unrighteous.
Jeremiah 51:50 says, “You who have escaped the sword, get away! Do not stand still! Remember the Lord afar off, and let Jerusalem come into your mind.” Jerusalem is a word that means, city of peace. Why is Jerusalem at peace? Because the people in Jerusalem keep God’s commandments. Jeremiah 50:20 says, “ ‘In those days and in that time,’ says the Lord, ‘The iniquity of Israel shall be sought, but there shall be none; and the sins of Judah, but they shall not be found; for I will pardon those whom I preserve.’ ”
Jerusalem, the city of peace is a desirable place. The devil wants you to believe that it is impossible to reach that state, but it says in Jeremiah 50:20, “ ‘In those days and in that time’ says the Lord, ‘The iniquity of Israel shall be sought, but there shall be none; and the sins of Judah, but they shall not be found; for I will pardon those whom I preserve.’ ”
My dear friend, the most important decision you can make while probation is still open and Jesus is calling, is which way you are headed. Be among those people who, in the end, live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.
(Unless appearing in quoted references or otherwise identified, Bible texts are from the New King James Version.)
Pastor John J. Grosboll is Director of Steps to Life and pastors the Prairie Meadows Church in Wichita, Kansas. He may be contacted by email at: historic@stepstolife.org, or by telephone at: 316-788-5559.