(86) Prayers That Are Heard by God - Ronny Hash

NTSB AAR-86/03 identifies the event as an upset following loss of thrust in one engine, not a four-engine flameout.

The core image of a 747 at 41,000 ft over the Pacific plunging roughly six miles and recovering near 9,000-10,000 ft is traceable to China Airlines Flight 006. But the talk's claim that engine after engine cut out until all four failed is not what the official accident record says. The initiating event was loss of thrust in the No. 4 engine, followed by loss of control and high-speed descent. The aircraft then diverted safely, rather than merely continuing to its original destination.

Official reports do not support a sequential four-engine failure. The incident is usable as a dramatic anecdote only if corrected: one engine lost thrust, pilot/autopilot handling led to an upset, and recovery occurred after a major descent. The stated version materially changes causation and severity.

Christianity began in the 1st century CE, while Elijah is set in the 9th century BCE kingdom of Israel.

Christian interpreters may retrospectively see Elijah as part of Christian salvation history or as a prophetic type, but historically he was not a Christian. Christianity arose in the 1st century CE around Jesus of Nazareth and his followers. Elijah, as presented in Kings, operated in the 9th century BCE in an Israelite/Yahwistic religious context under Ahab and related monarchic conflicts.

1 Kings ch. 18 calls Elijah 'the prophet' and frames him as a servant of YHWH opposing Baal worship in Israel. Nothing in the text identifies him as Christian, and the category did not yet exist. The claim is therefore not merely interpretive; it is chronologically false.

2 Chronicles ch. 20 vv. 1, 22-23 names a coalition involving Moab, Ammon, and Mount Seir/Edom against Judah.

The biblical account does say Jehoshaphat prayed in helplessness and that Judah did not need to fight because the enemy coalition collapsed. However, the speaker's wording is imprecise. 2 Chronicles ch. 20 v. 1 names Moabites, Ammonites, and some of the Meunites; ch. 20 vv. 22-23 has Ammon and Moab attack the inhabitants of Mount Seir and then destroy one another. Jehoshaphat is king of Judah, not Israel as a united or northern polity.

Chronicles often presents didactic, temple-centered retellings of Judah's past; historians use it cautiously, especially for miraculous battle accounts lacking external corroboration. As a claim about what the biblical text says, the main outcome is present, but the details 'two enemy nations' and 'against Israel' are inaccurate or oversimplified.

No global survey is cited, and existing religion surveys generally show high levels of belief in divine responsiveness among many praying populations.

The statement combines a plausible observation--many people pray, especially in distress--with an unsupported global claim about what 'most people' believe. Survey instruments usually ask about frequency of prayer, belief in God, or importance of religion, not always whether God 'hears' and 'answers' prayer. Among many Christians, Muslims, Hindus, and other theists, belief that divine beings hear prayer is central. The examples of unanswered petitions do not measure belief.

The reasoning is also logically weak: the fact that a team loses, war continues, or a personal request is not granted does not by itself prove that most who pray disbelieve that God hears or answers. A person may believe God hears but denies a request, answers differently, or is constrained by theological conditions.

Acts ch. 7 vv. 59-60 depicts Stephen addressing the risen Jesus directly.

The claim is partly grounded in biblical monotheism: Israel's God YHWH is the normal recipient of prayer in the Hebrew Bible, and Jesus teaches prayer to the Father in Matthew ch. 6 v. 9. Yet the New Testament complicates an absolute rule. Stephen addresses the risen Jesus in Acts ch. 7 vv. 59-60, Paul describes believers as those who call on the name of the Lord Jesus in 1 Corinthians ch. 1 v. 2, and Revelation ch. 22 v. 20 petitions Jesus to come.

The name 'Jehovah' represents the Tetragrammaton YHWH in the Hebrew Bible, but it is not found in extant Greek New Testament manuscripts; translations inserting it into the New Testament reflect theological reconstruction. The Bible supports prayer to God/the Father, but the assertion that any prayer addressed to Jesus 'simply will not be heard' is a denominational conclusion, not a neutral summary of the whole canon.

1 John ch. 5 v. 14 conditions prayer on God's will but does not equate that will with every matter affecting emotional welfare.

The verse states that believers have confidence that God hears requests made 'according to his will.' It does not say that any matter affecting emotional welfare is necessarily God's will, nor does it guarantee the requested outcome. The immediate context includes intercession and sin in ch. 5 vv. 16-17, making the issue more specific and morally framed than the talk's broad formulation suggests.

Other biblical texts encourage broad prayer--for daily bread in Matthew ch. 6 v. 11 and anxiety in Philippians ch. 4 vv. 6-7--so praying about ordinary life is well supported. But James ch. 4 v. 3 warns that requests may be wrongly motivated. The claim is pastorally plausible, yet 'certainly in line with his will' is stronger than the cited text establishes.

The speaker's summary follows the plot of 2 Samuel: David learns of Ahithophel's defection, prays that his counsel be turned to foolishness, sends Hushai to counter it, and Absalom accepts Hushai's counsel. The narrator explicitly theologizes the event in ch. 17 v. 14 by saying YHWH ordained the frustration of Ahithophel's good counsel. This is a sound report of the story's internal logic.

As history, the Absalom revolt belongs to the Deuteronomistic History's court narrative and is not independently documented in external inscriptions. Many scholars regard the succession narratives as containing old court traditions, but precise episodes remain difficult to verify. As a textual/doctrinal claim, however, the talk accurately represents ch. 15 v. 31, ch. 16 v. 23, and ch. 17 v. 14.

The logic is circular from a secular scholarly standpoint: if one already accepts the Bible's miracle narratives as reliable revelation, the examples support confidence in prayer; if not, they are claims within religious texts, not external proof. The cases are also highly selective, omitting biblical examples of denied or delayed requests, such as Paul's plea concerning the thorn in 2 Corinthians ch. 12 vv. 7-10 or Jesus' prayer in Gethsemane framed by submission to God's will.

The cited stories do present answered prayers in their literary contexts. But a few narrative examples cannot establish a universal rule that all qualifying prayers are answered, nor can they identify objectively when a modern prayer has met divine requirements. The conclusion is a confessional exhortation, not a fact established by historical method.

Biblical traditions often affirm divine aid and providence, but the talk's universal language risks overclaiming. Hebrews ch. 11 vv. 35-40 praises faithful people who suffered and died without receiving deliverance. Paul reports that his plea was not granted as requested in 2 Corinthians ch. 12 vv. 7-10. Thus, within the Bible itself, God's answer may be endurance rather than circumstantial repair, and not every lack is visibly 'made up' in this life.

The David-Hushai account says YHWH frustrated Ahithophel's counsel in that case, but it does not formulate a general promise covering 'all situations and all prayers.' As doctrine, the statement reflects trust in providence; as a factual guarantee, it is non-falsifiable and pastorally vulnerable when hearers experience tragedy despite sincere prayer and effort.

The Bible contains several passages stating that immoral conduct, injustice, or wrong motives obstruct prayer; Isaiah ch. 1 v. 15 and Proverbs ch. 15 v. 29 are classic examples. Other texts, however, show God hearing desperate, repentant, or morally compromised people, so the doctrine requires nuance. As a truth claim about divine action, it rests on confessional premises rather than publicly checkable evidence.

Proverbs ch. 15 v. 29 says YHWH is far from the wicked but hears the prayer of the righteous. 1 John ch. 5 v. 14 says confidence in prayer depends on asking according to God's will. These texts support a conditional-prayer theology, but they do not provide an empirical mechanism for identifying which prayers God has or has not heard.

As literary-theological narrative, 1 Kings 18 is a polemic for YHWH's supremacy over Baal in the context of Israel's covenantal loyalty. The talk accurately reports the broad plot: Baal's prophets call without answer; Elijah prays; fire consumes the offering. But using this as historical proof that all non-YHWH prayer today is unheard depends on accepting the biblical miracle story as normative revelation.

In context, 1 Kings ch. 18 vv. 21-39 challenges Israel's wavering between YHWH and Baal. The people's cry in ch. 18 v. 39 is 'YHWH, he is God' in the Hebrew setting. The text supports the internal theological claim of YHWH's superiority, but historical-critical scholarship cannot confirm the miraculous fire as an event independent of the narrative.

The Johannine Jesus is the mediator of access to the Father; John ch. 14 v. 6 directly supports the idea that approach to the Father is through Jesus. John ch. 14 vv. 13-14 and ch. 16 vv. 23-24 support asking 'in my name.' However, John ch. 14 v. 14 in many manuscripts reads 'if you ask me anything in my name,' which some traditions understand as prayer to Jesus. Thus the talk's prayer-through-Jesus component is well rooted in John, while its anti-prayer-to-Jesus conclusion is more contested.

In context, John ch. 14 is about Jesus' departure, revelation of the Father, and believers' access to God through him. It does not use the word 'Jehovah' in the extant Greek text. The speaker's conclusion is a defensible sectarian reading, but not the only grammatically or historically plausible Christian reading of the passage.

Hebrews ch. 11 v. 6 says one who approaches God must believe that he exists and rewards those who seek him. Proverbs ch. 15 v. 29 contrasts the wicked and righteous in typical wisdom fashion. The talk's moral emphasis is biblically grounded, especially where injustice or hypocrisy invalidates prayer. Still, biblical theology is broader: God hears repentance and pleas for mercy from morally compromised people, so 'conduct must be righteous' should not be turned into a simplistic worthiness test.

The Pharisee-tax collector parable in Luke ch. 18 vv. 9-14 is a major counterbalance: the tax collector, not presented as conventionally righteous, is justified because he humbly asks for mercy. Psalm ch. 51 is a prayer after grave sin. Thus the cited texts support moral seriousness, but not the idea that only already-righteous conduct makes prayer audible to God.