The Special of the Day… From the Orange Moon Cafe…
"Sweet Is Thy Voice"
"If we pray humbly, and with trusting, submitted devotion to our Heavenly Father, we can be sure our prayers mean more to Him than they do to us."
We have cited few passages of Scripture more through the years than Proverbs 15:8, particularly regarding prayer:
"The prayer of the upright is His delight" (Proverbs 15:8).
Those made "upright" with God through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and who seek to walk with Him in faith and obedience, must embrace the wonder that our prayers bring pleasure to His heart. If we pray humbly, and with trusting, submitted devotion to our Heavenly Father, we can be sure our prayers mean more to Him than they do to us. How can this be? The answer lies in the nature of God. He exists as an infinite, eternal Being whose mental and emotional sensibilities undoubtably transcend our own by a vast measure. Thus, when He experiences pleasure, as in "the prayer of the upright," it must involve feeling far beyond any we have ever felt. Moreover, He has determined to work through our prayers to fulfill "the eternal purpose which He purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Ephesians 3:11). Thus, we please Him greatly when we join our Heavenly Father as "workers together with Him," again, "greatly" beyond any emotional measure we can imagine (I Corinthians 6:1).
Our reason for citing Solomon's wondrous insight regarding prayer lies in the motivating influence it has in our hearts and minds. Anyone who truly knows the Lord Jesus cannot fail to be moved by the potential we have to please the heart of God by our praying. Or rather, to delight His heart. The word suggests a pleasure beyond mere happiness, especially considering our Lord's infinite being and nature. Delight. Could it be that humble, trusting prayers of believers elicit such feeling in the heart of God? And if so, will not the remembrance of such wonder lead us to far more consistently approach Him? Perhaps David pondered this when he declared, "When Thou saidst, Seek ye My face, my heart said unto Thee, Thy face, Lord, will I seek" (Psalm 27:8).
Most importantly, God's delight in our prayers tells us something about His heart. It tells us of a love that "passeth knowledge." It reveals a grace that abounds, a mercy in which our Father delights, a pleasure He finds in His people, and a willingness to sacrifice His beloved Son to suffering, forsakenness, and death in order to make possible our relationship with Him (Ephesians 3:19; Romans 5:20-21; Micah 7:18; Psalm 149:4; I Peter 3:18). It bears witness to the truth we will never fully plumb the depths of our Father's goodness, not in time or forevermore. Yes, we can delight the heart of God in this moment by lifting the voice of our hearts and lips to Him. Let us do so in the astonished realization He will say to us in response…
"Sweet is thy voice."
(Song of Solomon 2:14)
Weekly Memory Verse
"Knowledge puffeth up, but charity (love) edifieth."
(I Corinthians 8:1)
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