1 Peter 3:12 For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”
People wonder why God does not answer prayer or why God does not seem to be present in their lives. We cannot know all the dynamics of this feeling, but we can get some clues in this verse that should help us at least look within ourselves for possible reasons. A couple of preliminary premises. First, God’s presence is everywhere, but we can suppress God’s presence and not allow God to commune with us. Second, there is a deeper walk with God that we can have when we consecrate ourselves to God. Third, God is sovereign and God’s ways are higher than our ways. We cannot know how or why God does things in this world. Fourth, life is dynamic and has seasons of joy and sadness, times when we “feel” close to God and other times when we feel alone. This is part of being human and the journey we all walk in this life. Fifth, God’s answering of our prayers is not totally dependent upon our obedience because God is gracious and does things for us when we don’t deserve them, including answering prayers.
In light of these reflections, being righteous before God opens us more to what God wants to do in our lives. Those who live in obedience find favor before God. The ancient words of Psalm 34 that Peter is quoting here offer a promise, incentive, and warning. The promise is that God listens to the prayers of those who come to Him in humility and pure hearts. The incentive is that we can come to God with confidence and faith knowing that God is listening to us. We want to live in obedience because we know it pleases God and God will answer our prayers. The warning is that God will not listen to the prayers of those who disobey and do evil. To ensure our prayers will be answered, we must check our motives and come with humility and repentance. Peter may be reflecting on the teachings of Jesus about prayer in Matthew 6:5-14.
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