Our Prayer is His Delight

Proverbs 15:8 – “The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD: but the prayer of the upright is his delight.”

Is every sacrifice acceptable to God? No, the “sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD.” We can readily think of multitudes of empty rituals and false religions that offer sacrifices that are not pleasing to God. What about those terrorists who slaughter in the name of their religion? Can God be pleased with such? Or, what about those through the centuries who have burned alive those who believed in Scriptural baptism? Are these executioners pleasing to God? We ought to think of those religious hypocrites who insisted on the crucifixion of our Savior. We know that their religious sacrifices were “an abomination to the LORD.” What about the growing numbers of deceived cult members who deny the deity of Christ yet sacrifice greatly for their false doctrine? God is not pleased with the “sacrifice of the wicked.”

What is it that brings delight to the Lord? We are reminded here, “the prayer of the upright is his delight.” God is delighted in the prayerful communication of those who walk uprightly before Him. The “upright” are those who have trusted in the blood of Calvary’s Lamb as the payment for sin and are seeking to walk in obedience to His Word. God delights to hear our voices lifted up in prayer. The great God of the universe takes special pleasure in fellowship and communing with His children.

Could it be possible that God would be delighted in something we do? There is no doubt. He enjoys our time of prayer with Him. He wants us to love Him and spend time with Him. He wants us to need Him and include Him in our plans and decisions. He wants us to thank Him for His guidance and blessing in our lives, recognizing Him as the Giver of every good gift. He is pleased when we praise Him for His greatness and remember His attributes. It delights Him when we look to Him for our strength and wisdom. He is pleased when we come to Him and confess our failings, claiming the cleansing that can only come from Him. He wants us to ask Him to do things and provide things that would be in accordance with His will. He is pleased when we resign ourselves to His care, trusting completely in His love.