Your Prayer Pleases God
By Greg Sanders

A little over 6 months ago, my wife and I welcomed our beautiful daughter into our home. It has been a journey of discovery. We have watched her learn to roll over, sleep through the night (PTL!), scoot across the floor, and even help hold the bottle when we are feeding her. But there is one step of development that I am anxiously anticipating. I can’t wait to hear her speak. More specifically I cannot wait to hear her say the words “dad, daddy, or dada.” I will take any form of the word she wishes to use. As a matter of fact, while Megan is out of the room I work on saying “daddy” with her so her first words might be daddy instead of mama. Why is that such a big deal to me? It’s been about a 12-year journey for us to have a child. Therefore, for about 12 years, I have been waiting for those words to be uttered. As I have pondered my excitement about hearing that word from my child, I began to wonder how our Heavenly Father feels about waiting for His children to call on Him. You see, some other dads have told me that being called “dad” does get common, but it never gets old. If I have a little bit of anticipation after waiting for a decade, imagine the anticipation our heavenly Father has knowing that He has had you on His mind for centuries.

I believe that God never gets tired of hearing His children call out to Him. I believe it brings joy to the Father. Think about that: Your prayer brings God joy.” Proverbs 15:8 The Lord detests the sacrifice of the wicked, but the prayer of the upright pleases him. Did you hear that? The prayer of the upright pleases Him. Now we know that none of us are upright in our own merit. But because of the grace of Jesus, we can all be made upright. More specifically, we can all be made sons and daughters of God. Just as an earthly father longs and loves to hear from his children, your heavenly Father longs to hear from you. Perhaps that is why Jesus taught His disciples to begin their prayer with “Our Father who art in heaven hollowed be Your name.”

What’s the point? Realize you are not bothering your Heavenly Father when you pray. You are not wearing Him out, but rather, your prayer pleases Him. He is anticipating and longing for your next prayer. Your prayer pleases Him.

Today’s Challenge: Spend some time in prayer today. As you begin to call upon the Lord, realize that you are bringing joy to Him by calling on Him. I have discovered that joy is reciprocal. For in His presence is fullness of joy. (Psalm 16:11)

Blessings,

Greg