[trebb]

One answer which explains the difference between God and "gods" is: Surrounded by pagan neighbors, God's people often encountered people who worshiped other gods. Baal, Asherah, and other fertility gods played a significant role during Old Testament times. By Jesus' day, the baals were replaced by Greek and Roman gods. Hellenistic people engaged in immoral behaviors to honor their gods and to entice their return from the underworld.

from page

The God of the Bible is the God of the Torah, but many who worship God are not Christians (most Jews for example). God hears all prayers, but He will not heed those who pray to "gods". The Bible contains a story of a prophet putting a pile of wood out and exhorting them to pray for their god to burn the pile. When they fail, he douses the pile with water and beseeches God to set it on fire, at which time it is totally incinerated.

The main point being, that if prays to God, God listens, if one prays to some idol or other false god, noone hears the prayers.

[stuartcr]

Didn't those who worshipped Baal, etc, believe that they were worshipping God? What does it matter how you see God in your own mind, if there really is only one God? God being omnipotent, can easily manifest Himself in any way He may want, to anyone He wants.

I do not believe there really is any way of knowing what God hears...it's just in our faith.