Psalm 34:17 April 12, 2009

Ps 34:17 "The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles." NIV

Does the Lord here our prayers? Can anything keep our prayers from reaching the heart of God and receiving his gracious reply? The scriptures give us great hope of a God who hears the cries of His people and we joyfully receive such news with a heart of faith, but do we ever consider the conditions that the Word of God attaches to answered prayers. This portion of Psalm 34 points us to God’s deliverance but includes the standard of righteousness as one of the qualifications of answered prayer. So many people ask God for His intervention in time of need but neglect to consider the context in which God commits to hear our cries. If we pray and do not see the moving of God’s hand, perhaps we should examine our ways to see if we are honoring God’s standard. If we remove the hindrances to favor with God then perhaps the consistency of our prayer testimony will be greatly increased.
How is your marriage? 1 Peter 3:7 tells us “Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered.” Is your pride showing? 1 Peter 5:5 "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." Do you believe when you pray? Mark 11:24 “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” Are you asking the Father in Jesus Name? It matters. John 14:13 “And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father.” John 16:23 “In that day you will no longer ask me anything. I tell you the truth, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.” Are you consistent in your life before God and is the Word consistent in you? John 15:7 “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.” These are just a few of the standards that impact God’s response to our prayers. Perhaps our testimony regarding prayer will be greatly changed if we will examine our ways in regard to prayer.
The word is clear that God delights to hear the cries of his people but we must not forget that he also has a standard that He upholds in regard to us. Yes our righteousness comes as a gift from the Lord, but God does not merely give us a gift and then leave us to enjoy all that He has provided. Instead, He offers us the free gift of righteousness through the blood of Christ and then He calls us to rise up, wearing that righteousness as a cloak of transformation, and challenges walk in empowered by that righteousness to live our lives according to His Word. The cross was not a replacement for the standard of life God expects, providing an excuse for failure, it was an empowering provision so that we can fulfill that high standard through grace.