"God delights in the prayers of the upright for the same reason that he abominates the sacrifices of the wicked - because the prayers of the upright are the extension and outworking of the heart; but, unlike the heart of the wicked, the heart of the upright magnifies the power and grace of God. The prayer of the upright is a delight to God because it expresses those affections of the heart which call attention to the all-sufficiency of God.In Psalm 147:11 we read that "The Lord takes pleasure in those who hope in his love." Here we see that the Lord takes pleasure in prayers that give expression to that hope. The reason our hope is a pleasure to God is because it shows that all our joy comes from the bounty of his grace. And the reason our prayers area a pleasure to God is because they express this God-exalting hope. It is a precious thing beyond all words-especially in the hour of death-that we have a God whose nature is such that what pleases him is not our work for him but our need of him."
*Excerpted from How Prayer Impacts Lives, p. 85
John Piper is the founder and teacher of DesiringGod.org, chancellor of Bethlehem College and Seminary, and author of over fifty books. For thirty-two years, he served as pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church, Minneapolis, Minnesota (USA). John and his wife Noel have four children and twelve grandchildren.
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How Prayer Impacts Lives: 41 Christians and their Conversations with God by Catherine Mackenzie (editor) is available at any good Christian bookstore. If you don’t have a Christian bookstore near you, you may want to consider purchasing a copy from one of the online book retailers listed below:
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