Joel Osteen - When God Doesn't Listen

Joel Osteen explains in this message that while God hears everything, He doesn’t always listen—particularly not to our self-condemnation, guilt, or pleas of unworthiness, as illustrated in the parable of the prodigal son where the father ignores the son’s speech of shame and restores him fully; instead, God tunes in to bold faith, gratitude for mercy, and confidence in His forgiveness already granted through Christ.

Hearing vs. Listening

I want to talk to you today about «When God Doesn’t Listen.» We know that God is omnipresent; He is everywhere at the same time. He can see everything, and He can hear everything. But there is a difference between hearing and listening. Hearing is unintentional. You can be asleep and hear your alarm; you are not listening—you are simply hearing.

Listening means you have tuned in, you have given your attention, you are interested. A while back, I asked Victoria if she had gone to the grocery store. I was looking for the short answer, but Victoria is much more expressive than I am; she likes to give the details. She told how she had gone and who she ran into, what they had been doing, and how their cousin’s next-door neighbor’s grandfather’s best friend had just had a baby.

I was not looking for any of that; I just wanted to know, did you get the chicken wings? The whole time she was telling the story, I was hearing it, but I was not listening. I was there, but I was not tuned in. It may surprise you that even though God hears everything, He does not always listen. There are certain things the scripture tells us that God does not pay attention to.

Does God Tune In to Your Words?

Now I wonder if we are talking to God about something that He is hearing but He is not tuned in—He is right there, but He is not listening. In Luke 15, there is a story of two sons. The younger son asked his father for his inheritance early. He knew it belonged to him, and he wanted it right then. His father agreed. The young man took the funds and left home.

He went out and started partying, living wild, spending it on all kinds of wrong things. Well, eventually the money ran out; there was a great famine in the land, nowhere to get food. He ended up working in a hog pen, having to eat the hog food to survive. It was nobody’s fault except his own; he brought the trouble on himself.

Sitting in the hog pen—dirty, smelly, feeling depressed—he began to think about home. He said, «Even the farmhands that work for my father eat three meals a day; here I am starving. I am going to go back home and see if my father will hire me as one of his staff.»

The Prodigal Son’s Return

He had his big speech all lined up; he had already practiced what he was going to say: «Father, I have sinned against you and against God. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. I do not deserve to live in the house; I am just asking you to hire me as one of your farmhands.» The son returned home. You can imagine how nervous he was; he had practiced this speech again and again.

When his father saw him a long way off, he took off running toward the son. I am sure the son thought, «Oh great, he is so upset; he is not even going to allow me back on the property. He is going to come out here and berate me and tell me how foolish I have been.» But when the father got to the son, he grabbed him and hugged him, would not let him go, gave his son a kiss.

I can see the father weeping tears of joy, so excited. Now it was the son’s big moment to give his speech; he knew this would either make him or break him. He started off, «Father, I am unworthy to be called your son. I have dishonored the family name; I have made so many mistakes.» He did it so passionately, so genuinely, but the scripture says the father was not listening.

The Father Ignores the Speech of Shame

Right in the middle of his big speech, when the son was pouring out his heart, telling how unworthy he was, the father was no more paying attention. He looked over at his staff and said, «Quick, go get the best robe and put it on my son. Go get a ring for his finger, shoes for his feet, and kill the fatted calf. We are going to have a party; my son was lost, but now he is found.»

I can see the son thinking, «Dad, I am trying to tell you how unworthy I feel, how sorry I am, but you are not even listening.» Are you telling God everything wrong with you—how many mistakes you have made, how you do not deserve to be blessed? «God, I blew it again. I do not see how You could even love me.» Can I tell you? God is not listening. You are wasting your breath.

This can save you a lot of time and emotional energy. You are not worthy because of what you did or did not do; you are worthy because of what Jesus did. You do not have to go to God and try to convince Him to forgive you, convince Him that you know you are not good enough, you are just a weak worm of the dust—He tunes all that out.

Speaking the Language of Faith

If you want God to not only hear but to listen, then go to Him with the language of faith: «Father, thank You that Your mercy is bigger than my mistakes. Thank You that You are not holding my past against me. Thank You that I am forgiven, that I am redeemed.» Do not go through life beating yourself up, dwelling on your mistakes and failures.

The moment you ask God to forgive you, He forgave you. You do not have to keep going back to God and saying, «I am sorry for what I did; I am just so undisciplined. I know I do not deserve Your goodness.» I can imagine God turning to the angel Gabriel and saying, «If someone is saying something, I hear it, but I am not tuned in to that.»

When you are telling God all the times you fail, how you do not deserve to be blessed, God is not saying, «Good, I am glad you finally feel unworthy. I am glad you are finally down on yourself.» He is not paying attention. All that is doing is making you feel bad about yourself; it is keeping you from expecting His favor.

Come Boldly to the Throne

That is why the scripture says in Hebrews 4:16, «Come boldly to the throne of grace to obtain mercy.» When you need mercy, do not go to God guilty, condemned, weak—go boldly, go with confidence, knowing that you are forgiven, knowing that God is for you. Yes, you may have blown it, but like this young man, God is running toward you right now—not to condemn you, not to make you guilty, but to love you.

«Well, Joel, should not I tell God how bad I was and how unworthy I feel?» You can, but He is not listening. God listens to the language of faith. He does not listen when we are beating ourselves up, telling Him what we do not deserve. The enemy would love for you to live feeling condemned; he will remind you of all the times you have not measured up.

It may not be something big, but even small things: «You did not spend enough time with your children last week. You should have worked it out. You got mad at your neighbor. You were late to school.» There is always some reason that we can feel bad about who we are.

Accepting Mercy Over Condemnation

If you give in to these lies, you will go through life feeling wrong on the inside. Now I have found most people accept condemnation easier than they accept mercy. They believe the lies from the accuser more than they believe what God says about them—that they are forgiven, that they are redeemed, that they are made worthy.

When you make a mistake, go to God, ask for forgiveness, and then move on. Do not keep asking again and again, bringing up the same failures. The first time you ask God to forgive you, He not only forgave you—He does not remember it anymore. When you go back and ask God again and again, He says, «What are you talking about? I have no record of that.»

When God forgave you, He deleted your files. He does not have a big server up in heaven where He is keeping a backup copy just in case He changes His mind. The scripture says in Romans 4:8, «God has cleared our record.» He has no record of what you keep asking Him for forgiveness for.

The Accuser Keeps Records

Now you know who is keeping a record? You know who has 47 backup copies? The enemy. He is called the accuser of the brethren; he will remind you of everything you have done wrong for the last 30 years. If someone is bringing up negative things from your past in your thoughts, you can be assured it is not God.

In this story of the prodigal, the young man did not even ask for forgiveness. Just the fact that he turned from his old ways, the fact that he left the hog pen and came home—that was enough for his father to forgive him. You may not have done everything perfectly in life; you can find plenty of reasons to live guilty, feel unworthy.

But just the fact that you are here, just the fact that you are listening, is a sign that you have turned toward God; it is a sign that you have headed toward the Father’s house. Right now the Father is running toward you. You may have your big speech all lined up; you are ready to tell God how unworthy you are, how you do not deserve to be blessed. Save your speech—He is not listening. There is no use beating yourself up, living condemned.

No Need to Pay God Back

God’s mercy has covered everything you have done wrong. If you want to get God’s attention, start speaking the language of faith: «Father, thank You that my files have been deleted. Thank You that You are not counting my sins against me. Thank You that I am covered by Your mercy.» But too often we think we have to pay God back for our mistakes.

If it is something big, we have to beat ourselves up for six months. Lost my temper, told my coworker off—that is a medium-sized sin; I have got to be down on myself for a couple of weeks. Plead with God again and again, «God, I blew it. I do not know what is wrong with me.» The whole time God is hearing you, but He is not listening.

When we are trying to make up for our mistakes, what we are really saying is, «Jesus did not finish everything on the cross. Let me pay for this one. I need to get back up on the cross for a little while.» Now understand, the price has already been paid in full. All your sins—past, present, and future—have been taken care of.

Honor God by Receiving Mercy

And the way to honor God is not by being down on yourselves, living guilty, feeling unworthy—it is by receiving His mercy, it is by getting up when you fall and trying again, it is by still believing for His favor, still expecting His goodness. Even though you have spent some time in the hog pen, even though you have made poor choices, you have that boldness to put on your robe of righteousness, to put on that crown of favor, to enjoy the party that your Father threw because you came back home.

Suppose the son said, «Dad, I do not deserve these new clothes. Let me just wear the old ones that I wore in the hog pen. I do not deserve this ring that represents I am in the family. Do not throw a party for me. Just let me live out in the barn; I need to pay you back for all this trouble.» The father would have said, «What are you talking about? Are you kidding? You are my son; I want to be good to you.» The way to please God is by receiving His mercy.

Arise and Go to the Father’s House

Sitting in the hog pen, this young man made a decision that changed the course of his life. He said in Luke 15:18, «I will arise and go to my father’s house.» He was saying, «Yes, I have made mistakes. Yes, I brought this trouble on myself, but I am not going to let one bad season ruin the rest of my life. I am not going to sit here condemned; I am going to arise.»

Now you may have made some poor choices; you are not where you thought you would be in life. The accuser is telling you, «It is too late. You have blown it too bad; just sit on the sidelines.» No, you are one decision away from seeing God show out in your life.

The plan He has for you was not canceled because you spent time in the hog pen. Those decisions did not disqualify you from His favor. All you have to do is arise, shake off that guilt, quit believing the lies that you have seen your best days, and start heading toward your Father’s house.

Knowing Your Position Changes Your Condition

Start making decisions that honor God, break away from things that are causing you to compromise, to be less than your best. It is not too late; you are not too far off course. God still has amazing things in your future if you dare to arise. Now I believe one reason this young man had the boldness to go back home was deep down he knew who he was; he knew what family he belonged to.

When you understand your position, it will change your condition. When you understand you are a child of the Most High God, you were not created to live condemned, guilty, defeated—God created you to be victorious, to reign in life, to leave your mark. Now your condition may be way down low because you have made poor choices. You do not think you deserve to be blessed; it was your fault.

The right attitude is, «I may have made mistakes, but I understand my position. The Creator of the universe breathed life into me. I may not feel worthy, but I know He has made me worthy, so I am going to arise and go to my Father’s house.» In the Father’s house there is mercy for every mistake. In the Father’s house there is no judgment, no condemnation, no putting you on a guilt trip.

The Father’s Response: Mercy, Not Judgment

It is interesting when the son came back home, his father never once brought up the son’s past. He never once said, «I will forgive you, but you do not deserve it. I will let you live here, but I will always remember what you did.» There was no judgment, only mercy.

When the father could have been upset, he was full of kindness. When there could have been a big argument, instead there was a big party. What keeps some people away from God is they have the wrong image of Him. They think when they come back home, there will be all this guilt: «I told you so; look how foolish you have been.» That is not the way our God is.

When you come back, there will be a party; there will be a celebration. Now you may have made mistakes; the accuser is telling you, «Stay away, stay in the hog pen; God would never accept you.» But I believe deep down, like this young man, you know who you are; you know God’s calling is on your life. You can feel Him speaking to you right now.

Stop Repeating Old Requests for Forgiveness

Why do not you arise? Let today be a new beginning—no more living guilty, beating yourself up, telling God everything you have done wrong. He has already forgiven you; come on back to the Father’s house. When the prodigal son returned home, imagine the next week he went to his father and said, «Dad, I am sorry for what I have done; please forgive me.» The dad said, «Son, you are forgiven; do not worry about it.»

The next day he comes, «Dad, I cannot believe I left you. Please forgive me.» The father says, «Son, I forgave you.» What if the son kept coming week after week, month after month? Even though the son had good intentions, the father would get frustrated, say, «Son, you are wasting your time. I have forgiven you. Now do me a favor: receive my forgiveness.»

I know people that ask God to forgive them for the same thing over and over. It happened 20 years ago, and they are still bringing it up. They think they are showing God that they are sorry, but God is not listening.

The Story of Sam and the Duck

«Well, Joel, I am doing it because I feel this guilt, this remorse.» The guilt is not from God; that is the accuser. The language of faith says, «I may feel guilty, but I know I am forgiven.» You cannot go by how you feel because feelings do not tell us the truth all the time. You have to go by what you know: «God, You said I am forgiven, so I am going to get in agreement with You and believe that I am forgiven.»

There was a nine-year-old boy named Sam. He was visiting his grandparents during the summer; they lived out on a big farm. He had this slingshot, and all during the day he would go through the woods shooting at different targets. He was not very accurate, but he kept practicing and practicing.

One evening he heard the dinner bell ringing. On the way to the house, he saw his grandmother’s pet duck over by the pond—it was about fifty yards from the main house. He did not think he had a chance in the world of ever hitting it, but just for fun he pulled the slingshot back, let the rock fly. Much to his surprise, it hit the duck square in the head, knocked it over dead.

God Is Waiting for You to Receive Forgiveness

Sam began to panic; he ran over as quick as he could, grabbed the duck, took it, and buried it behind the woodpile. He felt so badly about it, but he was not about to dare say anything. When he got close to the house, he realized his twelve-year-old sister named Julie saw the whole thing take place.

That night after dinner, the grandmother said to his sister, «Julie, let us wash the dishes together.» Julie said, «Grandmother, I would love to, but Sam said he wants to help you tonight.» She whispered in Sam’s ear, «Remember the duck.» Sam went over and cleaned the dishes.

The next morning the grandfather was going fishing; he invited both children to come. The grandmother said, «I really need Julie to stay here and help me do some chores.» Julie smiled and said, «Grandmother, Sam said he wants to stay with you today.» She whispered in his ear again, «Remember the duck.» Julie went fishing; Sam stayed and worked.

After a couple of days of doing both his and his sister’s chores, Sam finally had enough. He went to his grandmother and said, «Grandmother, I have to tell you something. I accidentally killed your pet duck with my slingshot, and I am very sorry.» The grandmother gave him a big hug and said, «Sam, I know you did. I was standing at the window, and I watched the whole thing happen. I know you did not mean to; I already forgave you. I was just waiting to see how long you were going to let Julie make a slave of you.»

Can I tell you: God is standing at the window. He has seen every mistake, every failure, every weakness. The good news is He has already forgiven you; He is not holding it against you. He is just waiting to see how long you are going to let the accuser make a slave of you.

Boldness Like Jacob

How long are you going to live with that guilt, believing that you have blown your future? How long are you going to ask forgiveness for the same things? My declaration is, «No more. This is a new day.» We are going to rise up like Sam and say, «Enough is enough. Yes, I have made some mistakes, but I am not going to go through life condemned, trying to pay a debt that has already been paid, thinking that I have missed my destiny. I am going to arise.»

You can still become all you were created to be. No mistake you have made is too much for the mercy of God. You have to get back in the game, get your fire back, get your passion back. Quit believing those lies that it is too late, you have made too many poor choices, telling God everything you have done wrong—He is not listening to that.

If you want to get God’s attention, go to Him with boldness. Despite the mistakes you have made, dare to ask Him for favor, dare to ask Him to open new doors, to take you where you could not go on your own.

Jacob’s Bold Request for Blessing

This is what Jacob did in the scripture. He had lived his whole life being dishonest, cheating people; he tricked his brother out of his birthright. He finally got tired of living that way. One day he went down to the brook by himself to get alone with God, to make things right.

An angel appeared in the form of a man. Jacob started wrestling with him; this went on all night. Jacob finally realized it was an angel. He said to him, «I am not going to let you leave until you bless me.» When the angel saw how determined Jacob was, how he was not going to give in, he touched Jacob and gave him the blessing. That night God changed his name from Jacob to Israel. He left there a different person.

But think of the nerve of Jacob—after all those years of cheating people, making bad choices. He should have been living guilty, feeling unworthy, but somehow he had this boldness to not only ask for forgiveness but he said, «God, I am asking You to bless me despite what I have done wrong.»

You would think God would say, «Come on, Jacob. Are you kidding? You do not even deserve forgiveness, much less to be blessed.» But God said in effect, «Jacob, I like your boldness. I like the fact that you are not telling Me how bad you are and how unworthy you feel and what you do not deserve, but you are asking Me to be good to you. Jacob, if you are bold enough to ask, then I am bold enough to do it.»

God Is Moved by Faith, Not Guilt

If God will bless Jacob after living that kind of life, why are you believing the lies that God will not bless you, that you do not deserve it, that you are not worthy? Do yourself a favor: quit telling God all about that and go to Him like Jacob. «Father, I thank You that You are full of mercy. I am asking You to bless me—not because of how good I am, but because of how good You are.» That is what gets God’s attention; that is what He listens to.

How much time are you spending being down on yourself, guilty from past mistakes, telling God what you do not deserve? That is a lot of emotional energy; that is not doing any good. Yes, God hears you; He knows you are sincere, but He is not listening.

God is not moved by our guilt; He is moved by our faith. It takes faith not just to believe for your dreams—it takes faith to believe you are forgiven, to believe that you are worthy. Do not let the accuser deceive you into going through life with no passion, thinking you have blown it too many times.

Your record has been cleared; those files have been deleted. Now do like Jacob and come boldly to the throne. If you will do this, I believe and declare God is about to show you favor that you did not deserve. New doors are about to open—the right people, promotion, breakthroughs, the fullness of your destiny—in Jesus' name.

FAQ – Frequently Asked Questions