Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Karina Aleksandrova and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net Subconscious Religion Does God Answer Christians Only? Conflicting Prayers Subconscious Religion Praying for Visions of Heaven Great Prayers Use of the Bible in Prayer Conclusions _By_ RUSSELL H. CONWELL VOLUME 10 NATIONAL EXTENSION UNIVERSITY 597 Fifth Avenue, New York EFFECTIVE PRAYER Copyright, 1921, by Harper & Brothers Printed in the United States of America Chapter I Does God Answer Christians Only? What might be the consensus of opinion found in a digest of all the testimonies of mankind cannot be surmised, but it did not appear that God was "a respecter of persons" through those years of prayer at the Baptist Temple. The prevailing belief, however, was that God was more willing to answer the sincere disciple than he was to heed the requests of a great sinner. But the fact was also evident that God does answer the just and the unjust. The assertion of the blind man before the Pharisees that "God heareth not sinners" was evidently a quotation from the Pharisees' creed and not a gospel precept. As all have sinned and come short of the glory of God, no one would be heard if God would not hear sinners. Jesus was more inclined to heed the requests of John and Peter than he was to listen to the requests of the sacrilegious Sadducee. But a repentant Sadducee would not be neglected, and the fact is apparent that there is a clear distinction between the influence with God of a righteous man and the influence of a wicked or a frightened sinner. Here are a few of the testimonies which have a bearing on this important subject. One hardened sinner was so convicted of his completely lost condition that he spent the night in agony, calling on God for forgiveness. He was determined to fight the battle alone, but his strength failed and he was certain that he was condemned irrevocably to eternal punishment. His prayer availed him nothing. When, at last, he opened his heart to a faithful Christian friend, that friend's prayer was heard instantaneously, and the seeker knew by an instinct axiomatic that he was received by the Lord.