“The Lord is far from the wicked: but He hears the prayers of the righteous.” Proverbs 15:29
It is not our works or deeds that make us righteous, but rather the gift of Faith in Christ given by God. If one believes in Jesus, they have this gift and can be certain that the Lord hears their prayers. This Proverb makes it clear that our prayers are powerful and effective because they are heard by the Almighty God.
In a recent weekly Bible Study on the Book of Proverbs (found on our Facebook page) I had commented on how appropriate it is to read the Book of Proverbs and to pray each verse as you do so. Martin Luther on his commentary of the Book said this, “(Solomon) puts his teaching into proverbs, so that it can be grasped the more easily and kept the more readily. Anyone who intends to become righteous might well take this as a handbook or prayerbook for his daily use, read it often, and ponder his own life in it.”
I love Luther’s recommendation. The Proverbs contains so much for attaining wisdom and discipline; for understanding words of insight and acquiring a disciplined and prudent life. This is the reason it was written by the power of the Spirit through the hand of Solomon. When we read each proverb, we do well to pray that God would apply the truth to our personal life. Proverbs speaks on so many topics that are relevant to everyday life, that praying them as we receive them brings in God’s power to make them real in our life. We not only receive true words of wisdom as we read the proverbs, but we ask that God apply them unto us as well. God is always ready to give His good gifts to His Children who ask. We will read and pray that we not only hear but do, and share!
Know that you are loved!
Peace and Joy,
Pastor Kilian
