The prayer of the upright is His delight (Prov. 15:8)
Hello Children of God,
What is prayer if not communion with the Father? Is it not a child talking to His Father, laying before Him the requests, desires of the heart? Does it even have to be a son or daughter always asking for something; can prayer not be merely expressing gratitude and thankfulness to God for being such a faithful, caring Father? Boiled down to its very essence, is prayer not just a conversation with the God who loves us so much that He sent His only begotten Son to free us from the powers of sin and death, in order to commune with us? What is prayer to you? Do you most often see it as you asking your God for the things you think you need? It would seem that often, prayer is nothing more than like a child walking through a supermarket while tugging on the father’s coat saying, “dad, dad, can you buy me a…?” I believe like every father, it would get a little tiring, boring, and repetitively redundant to just be seen as a dispensary for the various wants and needs of the helpless or dare I say, even the self-centered.
When I came across this verse in my daily reading, the whole concept of prayer took a 180-degree turn. Have we ever thought of how God views prayer? Prayer is His delight! What is it about prayer that “pleases Him” (NIV). I got no insight from looking up the Hebrew word for prayer, since the word (tepilla) just means everyday, common prayer. The word is used 76 times in the Old Testament, most often in the Psalms. What is interesting is that 5 psalms are actually called prayers (tepilla). They are Psalms 17, 86, 90, 102, 142, four of which are written by David, and one by Moses (Ps. 90). So, these psalms called “prayer” should give me the reason why God delights to hear them from His chosen children who are “upright”. Maybe that is the place to start: God hears the prayers of the righteous (Prov. 15:29). No one can declare someone righteous but God Himself, and that is only done by faith in who God is and what He has done to make us righteous, only through the cross of Jesus. But Moses and David were declared righteous by faith in who God is as He revealed Himself to them. They believed God and were declared righteous. These men obviously had deep communion with God and would sit in His presence. They were chosen vessels allowed to enter into the Holy of Holies, into the very presence of God, as we are today because of Christ. The first reason why God delights to hear our prayer is because we are His children, chosen, redeemed, declared righteous and brought into communion with Him. We are His and He is ours!
Psalm 17 is David crying out for help because he knows his God, and he knows God will answer because he is “the apple of God’s eye, whom God will hide in the shadow of His wings” (17:8). What a picture of intimacy and protection! David and God have such an incredible relationship! You can just see David tucked right into God’s chest, enveloped by God’s “lovingkindness” (17:7). It’s like the picture of the disciple John leaning into Jesus’ chest at supper time (John 13:23). Do we see God as someone with whom we can have close intimate fellowship? Are we free in our faith to get up close into the heart and bosom of our God, snuggled into His lap, demonstrating our affection and love for Him. I believe true prayer that God hears comes out of that place of knowing God as Father, intimate provider and protector. Moses uses similar language, calling God his “dwelling place” or “hiding place” (Psalm 90:1). His prayer, rooted in a holy fear of the Lord acknowledging God’s righteous anger, majesty and justice, comes down to the intimately personal level of, “satisfy us in the morning with Your lovingkindness, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days” (90:14). Moses knew God’s love and the fruit of dwelling in it…joy!
Friends, children of our Father who loves us so much, God delights in our prayers because prayer is an opportunity for intimacy and closeness with the Almighty, powerful, sovereign God of the universe, who is also intimate and personal, desiring close communion with us. We run to our Father like a child to their dad, we hop up into that place of protection, snuggled under His arms, head on His chest, and as we enjoy His presence, we sense His strength, power and protection, and converse with Him about our needs. In that moment, secure in His arms, we have no anxiety, and with thanksgiving , we present our requests to our Father, knowing that He hears us, and will answer, and we experience the peace of God, to guard our heart and mind in Christ Jesus (Phil 4:6-7). God knows our needs before we ask (Luke 6:8), and it is His good pleasure to give us the kingdom (Luke 12:32). He knows and He hears, and if He hears what we ask for we have the confidence that He will answer (1John 5:14-15). So what is prayer really about? Why is prayer His delight? Because He loves intimate fellowship with His children. May prayer be our delight because we love intimate fellowship with our Father.
Peace and Joy to you as you meet with your Father
"Advancing the Kingdom of God by releasing Spirit-filled followers to serve Jesus in freedom and joy."
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