Q: Would you please explain John 9:31, which says that God does not hear the prayers of sinners. Aren't we all sinners? If so, does this mean that God hears none of our prayers?

Published: September 1st, 2006

An important tool in understanding a particular passage in Scripture is to look at the passage in context, as well as in the light of other Scriptures. In John 9, Christ healed a man on the Sabbath who had been born blind. The Pharisees and the Jews accused Christ of breaking the Sabbath and concluded that He was not from God (verse 16) and a "sinner" (verse 24, in Greek, "hamartolos"). In response, the healed man said: "Now we know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is a worshipper of God and does His will, He hears him... If this Man were not from God, He could no nothing" (verses 31, 33).

Q: We understand that when we are sick, we can ask for an anointed cloth, in order to be healed. When, exactly, should we ask for a cloth, and when, exactly, does God perform the healing? Does God heal when we ask for the cloth, when the minister prepares the cloth, when he places the cloth into the mailbox, or when we receive and apply the cloth? Should we ask for a cloth for the same sickness more than once?

Published: July 13th, 2007

Let us, first of all, understand that the Bible clearly teaches that God HEALS our sicknesses and diseases. To quote from a prior Q&A:

"He tells us in Exodus 15:26, 'If you diligently heed the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am the LORD who heals you.'

"We are also told how healing from sickness has been made possible. We are healed by the stripes of Jesus Christ who gave His life for us, and who was tortured and beaten so that we can obtain forgiveness of our sins and healing from our sicknesses and diseases (Psalm 103:1-3; Matthew 8:16-17; 1 Peter 2:21-25; Isaiah 53:5).

Q: Jesus instructed His disciples to make their requests to the Father in His name. What does that actually mean, and how should this be done?

Published: September 2nd, 2011

Specifically, in the book of John, Jesus instructed His disciples about prayer. In the hours before His death, He revealed that they would now have access to the Father—but that He, Jesus, was the means by which that would be possible.

Here are the relevant verses:

“‘And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it’” (John 14:13-14).

“‘You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you’” (John 15:16).

Q: Does the Bible encourage us to pray for the Work of God and His Ministers?

Published: June 22nd, 2012

The answer is a resounding, Yes. Most of our readers understand the importance of prayer for the Work of God and His ministers, deacons, members and coworkers who are actively involved in the Work of God. However, in this Q&A, we want to show the strong emphasis, which the Bible places on the duty and responsibility of non-ordained and ordained Church members to pray for God’s Work and the human instruments whom God chooses to carry out His Work.