Proverbs 15:8 – Your prayer can be 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.
Does God despise your worship, or delight in it? What a contrast! The LORD God considers the worship of some an abomination. He does not just dislike their worship: He hates it! But He delights in the prayers of others. What a difference! Is your worship an abominable stench in His holy nostrils? Or is He pleased with it and your prayers?
When wicked men worship God, no matter how accurate, sincere, or costly the effort, it is detestable, disgusting, and loathsome to Him (Pr 21:27). He hates it! He told Israel, “Incense is an abomination unto me – Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear them” (Is 1:12-14). “I hate, I despise your feast days, and I will not smell in your solemn assemblies” (Amos 5:21).
God hates your sacrifices, prayers, and worship, if you come with sin in your life. Ritual without righteousness is obnoxious to Him. He wants your obedience, not your worship. The sacrifice God wants is a broken heart (Ps 51:17). He did not want offerings from Israel: He wanted obedience (Jer 7:22-23). “And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams” (I Sam 15:22).
Unanswered prayers are your fault, not God’s! He always answers the righteous. He may not give the answer they expect, but He always answers. It is your fault! “Behold, the LORD’S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear” (Is 59:1-2). It is your fault! “He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination” (Pr 28:9).
Accuracy of worship, correctness of doctrine, and sincerity of worship have nothing to do with it. God does not care how accurate, correct, or sincere you are, if you come with less than a pure and trembling heart (Is 66:1-2). He does not want a bowed head; He wants a bowed heart (Is 58:3-7). Not praying is better than praying hypocritically (Rev 3:15-16).
God delights in the prayer of the upright – He hears it and answers it with pleasure. “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much” (James 5:16). “The LORD is far from the wicked: but he heareth the prayer of the righteous” (Pr 15:29). If sinful fathers give good things to their children, how much more will God give good things to His children that obey Him (Matt 7:11). This lesson is simple and true. Believe it.
What causes God to despise your worship? A single unconfessed sin! David knew, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me” (Ps 66:18). Peter wrote, “For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil” (I Pet 3:12). Confess your sins right now!
If you worship God with sin in your life, you are aggravating your horrible condition before Him. You will bring His certain, jealous wrath down on your head. Examine yourself! Repent! Confess your sins! Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness. Worship Him with reverence and godly fear. He is a consuming fire (Heb 12:28-29).
