Can you pray if you're not yet a Jehovah's Witness but you want to be? Will Jehovah God listen? Is it respectful?

[The Librarian]

NF - South Africa

[Queen Esther]

Oh yes, you can !  Many prayers are NOT from JW...  Jehovah is listen and very fast comming 2 sisters or brothers to exactly that door. I heard alot experiences of that. Often just our last door was so especially. In the need and when honestly, its of sure respectful,  yes !

[Melinda Mills]

(Psalm 65:2) O Hearer of prayer, to you people of all sorts will come.

"(Acts 10:1-5) . . .Now there was a man in Caes·a·reʹa named Cornelius, an army officer in what was called the Italian unit. 2 He was a devout man who feared God together with all his household, and he made many gifts of mercy to the people and made supplication to God continually. 3 About the ninth hour of the day, he saw plainly in a vision an angel of God come in to him and say: “Cornelius!” 4 Cornelius stared at him, terrified, and asked: “What is it, Lord?” He said to him: “Your prayers and gifts of mercy have ascended as a remembrance before God. 5 So now send men to Jopʹpa and summon a man named Simon who is called Peter. . ."

Supplication is fervent intense prayer.  We all know the outcome of that - that Cornelius became a believer and holy spirit came upon him and that he became the first believer (Christian)  from among the non-Jews.

Many more scriptures abound to prove that Jehovah listens to all types of people who are sincere in their search for Him.  That is why we have so many accounts of people who were desperate and they prayed to God and then they heard a knocking at their door, and as usual Jehovah's Witneses (who are working with the angels (Rev 14:6)) were there to help.

The person asking the question should also review chapter 17 in the Bible Teach book.  There is nothing there that says he cannot have a relationship with Jehovah and pray to him immediately if you are sincere.  See scripture below.

(Psalm 145:18, 19) 18 Jehovah is near to all those calling on him, To all who call on him in truth. ר [Resh] 19 He satisfies the desire of those who fear him; He hears their cry for help, and he rescues them.

 

However, in time you will make a dedication to Jehovah in prayer. So you need to be in the habit of praying to Him. You will symbolize your dedication by water baptism later, making it public. 

(Romans 10:10) 10 For with the heart one exercises faith for righteousness, but with the mouth one makes public declaration for salvation. . .

(Hebrews 4:14-16) 14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold on to our public declaration of him. 15 For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tested in all respects as we have, but without sin. 16 Let us, then, approach the throne of undeserved kindness with freeness of speech, so that we may receive mercy and find undeserved kindness to help us at the right time.

We recently discussed this in our Watchtower study.

*** w17 April p. 5 “What You Vow, Pay” ***

YOUR DEDICATION VOW

10 The most important vow that a Christian can make is the one with which he dedicates his life to Jehovah. Why so? Because, in private prayer, he solemnly promises Jehovah that he will use his life to serve God forever, no matter what. To use Jesus’ words, a person thus ‘disowns himself,’ gives up all rights to himself, and vows to put God’s will above everything else in his life. (Matt. 16:24) From that day forward, ‘he belongs to Jehovah.’