January 15

Jan 15 - Today from Proverbs 15 we look at verse 29
"The Lord is far from the wicked but he hears the prayers of the righteous."

As a member of the New Testament church, I take confidence that my righteousness is in Christ and that in Him my prayers are heard. But, when the Proverbs were written, the gospel was still a mystery hidden in God. What did righteousness mean to them? Could it be that of studying the code of the written law, and then attempting to keep that law? I don't think that this is the answer. Jesus referred to this as the 'righteousness of the Pharisees' and said unless one surpasses this kind of righteousness, one will not enter the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 5:20). The rich young ruler had this kind of righteousness and Jesus said "You're close, but you're not there yet." (Luke 18:20-22). Saul of Tarsus had this kind of righteousness - he called it 'legalistic righteousness' (Philippians 3:6) - and discovered that he was actually an enemy of Christ. He ended up considering such righteousness 'rubbish' (Philippians 3:8). He became the apostle Paul and opened the gospel to the Gentile nations, teaching them that true righteousness comes from God and is by faith (Philippians 3:9). Ah, there is the key. Although the mystery of the gospel was not yet revealed, Old Testament believers found righteousness in exactly the same way.
In verse 8 of this chapter it says "The Lord detests the sacrifice of the wicked, but the prayers of the upright pleases Him." By viewing the two thoughts in this verse as a contrast, we could say that prayer is a sacrifice. Why would the wicked offer a sacrifice to the Lord? It would be to appease Him for their wickedness. The wicked live self-serving lives. They can go one of two ways; they can totally ignore God or they can offer sacrifices to God to give Him His share so that He will not inflict punishment upon them. Feeble thinking? Let the Holy Spirit search your heart and see if you have ever engaged in such an act. I have - Lord have mercy. The sacrifice of the prayer that pleases God is very different. It is an act of faith. It is giving up time in which one could be doing something in his area of personal interests to spend worshipping a God he cannot see and speak to Him about issues he has little or no control over. That, my friends is faith. And that is a practical demonstration of values (which always asks the question, "What is important?"). The wicked sacrifice to appease God. The righteous sacrifice to draw near to God.
In our proverb for today it says God "hears the prayers of the righteous". Doesn't God hear the prayer of the wicked? First, let's define the word 'hear' in this instance. It doesn't mean 'to detect sound by the ear'. God 'hears' everything by this definition. In this instance it means 'to give a hearing', to be an attentive listener. To my knowledge, there is only one prayer the wicked can offer to which God will give a hearing, and that is contrite confession of sin. Anything else they have to say, particularly in the framework of bargaining with God, God detests. In contrast, the righteous come to God in contriteness. They honor God and seek to know and please Him because He is God. They desire knowledge of the truth in order that they might walk more closely with Him. Certainly this attitude pleases God because God desires fellowship with His children. He is an attentive Father to those who seek Him in this manner. This is the attitude of the heart of the Old Testament saints, and God counted it to them as righteousness. They placed their trust and faith in God, and when they made mistakes in their relationship with Him (sin), they would come with a contrite heart and plead God's mercy. Their relationship with Him was of the highest value and time in prayer proved it.
Today we have the revelation of the gospel, with a better Sacrifice, with better promises and with a better High Priest (read the book of Hebrews). Our behavior reveals how much we value these things. "Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on to love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another - and all the more as you see the Day approaching." (Hebrews 10:22-25)