Sincerity and Prayer

In bitterness of soul Hannah wept much and prayed to the LORD. And she made a vow, saying, "O LORD Almighty, if you will only look upon your servant's misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the LORD for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head." 1 Samuel 1:10-11

Recently, I heard a sermon in which the preacher (not my pastor, Tommy) makes a statement which leads me to conclude that God answers the prayers of his people based on whether or not the prayer was sincere. The preacher was preaching out of 1 Samuel 1. The preacher said the following which sounds reasonable, but is a little dangerous. “It is not the length of our prayer that matters, but certainly it is the sincerity of our prayers that make a difference.” Seemingly, the preacher is drawing the conclusion from Hannah’s example that God gave her a son, Samuel, because of the genuineness of her prayer. However, the scripture has examples of sincere and fervent prayers that God chooses to ignore, such as the prayers of King David to save the life of his son.

1 Samuel 11 describes an affair between David and Bathsheba, which results in Bathsheba's pregnancy. Nathan, the prophet, rebukes David and announces that God has decided to take the life of the baby. According to 2 Samuel 12, David fasts and prays for seven days, asking God to spare the life of his son. David prays sincerely and desperately, but God does not decide to answer his prayer.

Both David and Hannah pray for their sons. Both pray sincerely. God answers the prayer of the latter but not of the former. No one knows why God answers certain prayers while ignoring others. Sincerity does not guarantee that God will answer the prayer.

The preacher, in attempting to encourage a sincere attitude in prayer, exaggerates the power of sincerity. This is not to diminish the importance of sincerity. Christ's parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector in Luke 18 reminds us that sincerity is vital. However, what is more encouraging than my sincerity is the fact that prayer is in the hands of God. God’s people must offer prayers in faith and with sincerity, knowing that ultimately Jesus provides an excellent example for reliance on God in Luke 22:42, “not my will, but yours, be done." (ESV)