Q. Does God hear the prayers of an unsaved person?
A. Being omnipresent and omniscient, God hears every word that is uttered on the Earth, including, of course, those that are addressed to Him. With regard to the unsaved, God always answers the “sinner’s prayer,” whereby an individual comes to Christ.

“For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:13).

Occasionally, God will answer other prayers of the unsaved—if it is in His will to do so—for example, to make Himself manifest to that person in order to draw him to Christ; or in order that some other ultimate good will occur as a result. But God has put Himself under no obligation to answer these prayers of the unsaved. The many promises of answered prayer in the Bible are addressed primarily to Christians (for example, Mark 11:24, James 5:16, 1 John 5:15). One must first be in the family of God in order to confidently approach Him in prayer.

“Let us, therefore, come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).

Q. Who are the “saints” specified in Revelation 20:9? Is it possible for Christians to be tested again in Satan’s final rebellion?
A. This final rebellion of Satan comes after the Millennium and is discussed in the following passage: “And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them. And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night forever and ever” (Revelation 20:7-10).

Regarding the question of whether this rebellion is to test Church Age believers, the answer is no. At the Rapture and Resurrection, we will receive glorified bodies and we shall be changed so that our sin natures are no longer resident in us. Therefore, it will not be possible for Satan to tempt us in this rebellion. Those who are tempted are the descendants of those who enter the Millennium in their mortal bodies and procreate such as we do now. Although Christ will rule in perfect righteousness, and the world will outwardly pay Him the homage He deserves, there will be some who inwardly rebel against His rule. These are they who will follow Satan in that rebellion.

As for the identity of the “saints” in verse 9, this is not clear from Scripture. It could either refer to those Earth-dwellers during the Millennium who are faithful to Christ, or Church Age saints in our glorified bodies, also faithful to Christ. Either way, the “saints” are enemies of Satan, whom he tries to attack in order to secure victory in his rebellion. But as the balance of verse 9 points out, this attack is doomed to failure, and Satan is destined to share the fate of the Antichrist, the False Prophet, and ultimately, the unsaved of all ages.

Q. The world is becoming a very evil place. What can I hope to accomplish for Christ in such a world as this?
A. Indeed, the world is an evil place and it is getting worse with every day that passes. So the Scripture says, “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passes away, and the lust thereof; but he that does the will of God abides forever” (I John 2:15-17).

Still, speaking to Christians in this present world, the Lord Jesus says, “Behold, I have set before you an open door, and no man can shut it” (Rev. 3:8). The fact is that man’s importunity is God’s opportunity. The Psalmist is still true who describes the believer and says, “He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season; its leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he does shall prosper” (Psa. 1:3).