Praying for God's Favor: May His Favor Surround You!

Favor with God is important to the success of God's people in the Bible. Remember the story of Joseph in Genesis forty, and the favor God showed him, and Mary, the mother of Jesus in Luke one and two, who was "highlyfavored."  Remember the favor bestowed upon two children:

And the child Samuel grew on, and was in favor both with the LORD, and also with men. (1 Samuel 2:26)

And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man. (Luke 2:52)

The psalmist said that the favor of God was the difference between life and death. "For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favor is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. And in my prosperity I said, I shall never be moved. LORD, by thy favor thou hast made my mountain to stand strong: thou didst hide thy face, and I was troubled." (Psalm 30:5-7) I

In other psalms we find that the favor of God is the same as his mercy and, importantly, God's salvation of man. "I entreated thy favor with my whole heart: be merciful unto me according to thy word." (Psalm 119:58) "Remember me, O LORD, with the favour that thou bearest unto thy people: O visit me with thy salvation." (Psalm 106:4) So it is important, even vital, that we find the favor of God.

One of the things Solomon emphasized in his treatise on growing up that makes up much of the book of Proverbs is finding wisdom. Chapter 8 is all about wisdom, and concludes with the relationship to finding wisdom and finding God's favor. "For whoso findeth me [wisdom] findeth life, and shall obtain favor of the LORD." (Proverbs 8:35-36)

Further, Solomon says we find God's grace by following his mercy and truth. "Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart: So shalt thou find favor and good understanding in the sight of God and man." (Proverbs 3:3-4)

Here we see that God can give us favor with others.  When we concentrate on pleasing God, HE will give us favor with others when we need it most. We can even ASK God to give us favor with others. When we do that, we're not being selfish or prideful, but scriptural. Nehemiah was a devoted servant of the Lord. He was called by God to rebuild the city walls of Jerusalem during the reign of King Artaxerxes. As cupbearer to the king, he asked the Lord to give him favor with the ruler so that he could complete his God-given assignment. "Give Your servant success today by granting him favor in the presence of this man." (Nehemiah 1:11)

Here, we learn an important Bible principle--that God will grant us favor with others when it will help us carry out His will and plan. We can also pray for favor when we take a stand for the Lord. In the first chapter of the Book of Daniel, the young prophet "resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine," and he needed the cooperation of the chief official in order to carry out his commitment. Daniel 1:9 says, "Now God had caused the official to show favor and sympathy to Daniel." When receiving favor will glorify God, we shouldn't hesitate to pray for it.

The Bible teaches us that we can pray for God's favor, which can be a powerful weapon against the enemy's attacks. Psalm 89:17 NLT says, "Our power is based on Your favor." And Psalm 5:12 says, "Surely, O Lord, You bless the righteous; You surround them with Your favor as with a shield." We are God's children; His chosen; His elect. And He is committed to protecting and providing for His own. When we concentrate on pleasing God, we can depend on Him to change people's hearts for our benefit. Proverbs 16:7 says, "When a man's ways are pleasing to the Lord, He makes even his enemies live at peace with him."

If God is willing and able to change the hearts of our enemies, surely we can expect Him to give us favor in the sight of our teachers, employers, neighbors and others we come in contact with. But we mustn't assume that this favor is automatic. Often, we will have to ask God for it, expecting Him to act on our behalf. If a relative or friend or parishioner needs help in situations, I have asked the Lord to give them favor, and He has always been faithful. I have also asked God to grant my family favor in the sight of our bosses and coworkers. And I have seen my family acquire jobs, often with salaries well above what we expected. When you pray for favor, people will bless you, and they won't even know why. But don't just take my word for it. Begin today to pray for favor, and discover for yourself that "the Lord bestows favor and honor" upon His people! (Psalm 84:11)

Please pray for favor for me as I do the work God has called on me to do in the churches and the greater church, and at the university, and in all the things God is leading me to do.  I will be praying God's favor will rest upon you also.  Praise the Lord!

Prayer: Lord, help me to always concentrate on pleasing You, and teach me how to pray for favor for myself and my friends and loved ones to have favor with others, especially when we need it most. Reveal to me how praying for favor can open doors that appear to be closed. Thank You that blessing me with favor will bring You glory! IN JESUS NAME AMEN.