Who does God hear?

The LORD is far from the wicked, But He hears the prayer of the righteous.
Proverbs 15:29

That the Lord is far from the wicked does not mean that He is unaware of them or of their wickedness.  He is everywhere, sees all, and knows all.  That He is far from them refers rather to their access to Him in prayer, and to His unwillingness to assist them in their distresses, even though they may cry out to Him for His help.

This is made clear by the contrasting parallel in the second phrase of this verse.  Though He is far from them, He is near, and hears (and answers) the prayers of the righteous. Hallelujah!

A further word of clarification is in order, however.  Who are the righteous and why does God hear their prayers?  We know from Romans 3:10-12 (citing Psalm 14:1-3, & 53:1-3) that “there is none righteous.”  No one is righteous in and of ourselves.  The righteous ones God is near to, and whose prayers He hears, are those He has graciously declared to be righteous.  He makes that declaration of those who trust on Christ Jesus, who alone is righteous.

We cannot earn God’s ear or His answers to our prayers based on how righteous we are.  He is near to those who are robed in the righteousness of Christ, imputed to the spiritual accounts of sinners who have trusted Christ for salvation.

All are born in sin and are therefore born spiritually estranged from God.  All who are born again are declared righteous, and God hears and answers our prayers.

Psalms 145:18  The LORD is near to all who call upon Him [Jesus], To all who call upon Him in truth [Jesus is truth].