Prayer For Favor

In his book, A Little Book on the Christian Life, John Calvin said,

“Our lust in furious and our greed limitless in pursuing wealth and honors, chasing after power, heaping up riches, and gathering all those vain things which seem to give us grandeur and glory.”

We chase the world and sell our souls for what the world says we need, but all the while the Word of God speaks to us of true blessing, of true abundance, and of true joy.

I believe Psalm 119 is an exposition of Psalm 1 and that is certainly true in the third stanza. Psalm 1 speaks of the blessed man and the wicked man and here we see those same two people personified before us.

First, notice the blessed man in his personal prayer that comes from the heart. It is found in verses 17-20.

What we have is the Psalmist laying out his prayer in the midst of persecution and trouble. Look at his prayer. First, it is a prayer for favor, “Deal bountifully with your servant, that I may live and keep your Word.” In the Garden, Satan deceived Adam and Eve by telling them that true joy would come from disobedience, but here we find just the opposite.

He is asking God for favor…many speak of favor in terms of worldly possessions…prosperity gospel preachers asking for his people to help him get a multi-million dollar jet for his own personal use…that’s his idea of favor, but the Psalmist wants God’s favor so that he can keep God’s Word. Do you see it? He knows that true abundance comes from obedience. When we discover this truth, it will revolutionize our lives!

When we seek to keep God’s Word we will find that He will deal bountifully with us…His favor comes by grace, but we experience it through obedience. We do not reward our children for disobedience…do we? How can expect God to reward disobedience? He blesses obedience, so the Psalmist prays for God’s favor…and the more favor he has the more he will obey and the more he obeys the more favor he experiences.

Jesus spoke of the anxiety we face over stuff and said, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on.” He then goes on to say look at the birds, look at the flowers of the field, God cares for them and He will care for you. Isn’t that favor?