I want God to be listening for my prayers, don’t you? And, I certainly DON’T want God to be AGAINST me! While it’s true God knows everything—including every prayer that is being prayed on the face of the earth right now—there is no question that God looks to answer some prayers more than others. The Bible says the “fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” (James 5:16)
God’s Word gives us some very practical instructions about who He listens to and who He is AGAINST:
Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous; not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing. For “He who would love life And see good days, Let him refrain his tongue from evil, And his lips from speaking deceit. Let him turn away from evil and do good; Let him seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, And His ears are open to their prayers; But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”
I Peter 3:8-12
Yesterday, in the devotional about consecration, God was revealing the importance of dedicating every part of my life to Him. This is not a ‘one and done” process—it’s an every day commitment. We must be proactively turning FROM evil and SEEKING to do good.
For me, that means that throughout the day I’m often having to stop myself from saying or doing something that isn’t holy and good. As you can imagine, that happens way more than I’d like. When I fall off into bad behavior, I need to immediately repent and apologize to God and to anyone else I’ve offended. Yes, it’s an every day process; but—the incredible benefit of having the ear of Almighty GOD is—an unparalleled experience. His will becomes our greatest delight.
