Do false gods answer prayer?

I was recently asked the following question; 

Do other "gods" answer prayers too? The reason I ask, is because I personally know people from different faiths who are convinced that they have had their prayers answered by the god whom they worship. This makes it difficult for me to make a case for Jesus in front of them, because they are being delivered from their difficulties without Jesus' help.

This is a great question, and a scenario that many of us will have to face at some point in time, if we are to be faithful in sharing the gospel with others.

A central truth found throughout all of Scripture is that there is one God (Deuteronomy 6:4). In fact, this is the first of all the commandments. Meaning, when we approach the Bible in an attempt to know God, the very first thing He reveals about Himself to us, is that there are no other gods but Him. When speaking through His prophet Isaiah, the Lord says, “I am the LORD, and there is no other; there is no God besides Me.” (Isaiah 45:5). Jesus reminds us, “The first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one!’” (Mark 12:29)

We know that in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1:1-2:4), and because “all things” were made through Him (John 1:3), including those things, “in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities – all things were created through him” (Colossians 1:16-17), we can be confident that there are no other gods in all creation, except the idols of false religion (cf. 1 Corinthians 8:4).

What are we to make of “other gods” then? The Bible clearly addresses “other gods” in 1 Corinthians 8, which is a chapter that gives instructions to Christians about a serious dilemma in their culture, which was foods offered to idols (i.e. false gods). In this chapter Paul says, “... we know that an idol has no real existence, and that there is no God but one” (1 Corinthians 8:4). What Paul is saying, is that the false gods of other religions have “no real existence”, and the reason we can be sure of this is because “there is no God but one”.

As far as people from other faiths having their prayers answered, there is a simple and logical answer for this as well. Those who pray to false gods have no more chance of receiving an answer to prayer than the 450 false prophets of Baal did, when challenged by Elijah on top of Mount Carmel (cf. 1 Kings 18:20-39). How can I explain then, the prayers that they make to their gods that do get answered? I believe there is a simple answer for this.

Jesus tells us that our Heavenly Father, “makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust” (Matthew 5:45). In other words God blesses the righteous and the wicked, the Christian, and the non-Christian. It doesn’t mean that the unjust receive eternal blessings, or any of the promises of God contained in Scripture that are exclusively for believers (they must first receive Jesus), but it does mean that God will bless, help, and provide for those who reject Jesus.

The Apostle Paul preached this same message to the men of Lystra who were trying to worship Barnabas (as Zeus) and Paul (as Hermes) after he healed a crippled man (Acts 14:8-14). When the Apostle Paul saw this he said, “Men, why are you doing these things? We also are men, of like nature with you, and we bring you good news, that you should turn from these vain things to a living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them. In past generations he allowed all the nations to walk in their own ways. Yet he did not leave himself without witness, for he did good by giving you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness” (Acts 14:15-17). Here we read that Paul is acknowledging the fact that God blesses those who worship other gods, by giving them “rains from heaven and fruitful seasons”, even “satisfying” their “hearts with food and gladness”. So we see that even in the bible those who worship and pray to false gods still receive blessings and good things from God.

How do I witness to people from different faiths, when they believe their god answers prayers too?

When witnessing to your friends of different faiths, or anyone for that matter, I would encourage you not to focus on one’s experience in having their prayers answered, because experience is very subjective and can be quite misleading. What I would encourage you to focus on is the gospel. The Gospel is our weapon to cut through the lies of the enemy. The Bible tells us that the gospel is “the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16).

Therefore, with discernment and in God’s timing, I want to encourage you to share the gospel with confidence. Let them know that all of us have a deadly virus called sin running through our bodies (Romans 3:23; 6:23), and the only cure for this virus is Jesus (Romans 5:8). It’s not up to us to convince other people of this. That is the Holy Spirit’s department (John 16:8-11), we are just called to faithfully present the truth to them so that they have an opportunity to turn to Jesus for salvation (Acts 4:12).