What a contrast we see in this verse.

When one is devoid of the righteousness of Christ – even what they try to give God in their worship – even sacrifice, is detestable. When for those in Christ – not only is their worship acceptable, but as opposed to giving a sacrifice to God, their desiring things FROM God is His very delight. One seeks to give and is disregarded. The other seeks to receive and is delighted in.

And may our hearts grasp this truly. When we ask “what does God want from me?” We can answer with this bold assurance.

I had a position once where I reported directly to the President of a small company; and the man was impossible to read in regard to whether or not he was happy with my performance. It seemed no matter what I did, I never got an affirming hint.

One day, I went into his office and just asked – “are you happy with my performance? because I don’t know where I stand.” Puzzled, he looked up at me and said: “Until I tell you different, everything is fine.” And that was the way it was my entire tenure there. But it wasn’t comfortable.

Then I married Sky. Me, being me, and somewhat insecure, I was telling her constantly how much I loved her. Multiple times a day.

One day, she told me to stop doing that. That it felt like manipulation. Then she said: “look, I love you. That stands until further notice.” That blew a hole in my head – but when I finally simply settled into trusting her love, I found it a far more sweet and simple relationship.

Now unless I miss my guess, there is something of this dynamic which informs the relationship many Christians have with God. Some are looking for some sort of ongoing affirmation or assurance. Especially if we have actually or imagined that we’ve have sinned against Him. How do we measure our acceptance with Him?

And rather than fixing our gaze continually on the Cross – we fix it upon ourselves and our performance.

Did I read the Scriptures enough today? Pray enough? Was I kind enough, spiritual enough, did I “feel” His love? Did I tithe enough? etc. As though the word “enough” is even useful here.

This impacts above all – prayer.

In prayer, this insecurity often shows itself in how we feel we need to butter God up before we make any petitions. Like He needs us to somehow make Him feel good about Himself before we can get to OUR stuff.

We start off addressing Him with all kinds of titles and accolades to get Him in the right frame of mind to hear us.

The problems with that approach are too many for us to address here, but essentially, it is approaching Him as pagans do their idols.

If you find that factor has crept into your prayer life – it is a mark that there is a trust issue afoot. That we do not trust His love and the nature of our relationship together is not truly grace based and sealed in the Cross.

It springs from the unspoken insecurity that we just don’t know what God really expects from us. How can we be sure He’s on our side? And doesn’t this hit especially hard when go through some unexpected and severe trial or temptation?

Additionally, it is why both legalism and rituals are so attractive. If I have this specific list of do’s and don’ts, I can take my comfort based on how well I’ve ticked the boxes.

The result is, that when things seem to go awry in life, we start probing: Where have I missed the boat? Where did I fall down? Why is He letting this happen to me if everything between us is OK? I am missing the key metric. The key to knowing the nature of His love and attitude toward me. 

As our text here says: “The prayer of the upright is his delight.”

What pleases God most? It is that God is believed in all that He has said, done and revealed, and trusted accordingly.

Let me repeat that – God wants above all else – to be believed, in all that He has said, done and revealed – and then trusted accordingly.

This is the faith He desires, and that pleases Him.

And this is basis of all prayer. That as we look to him in everything, he is delighted.

Would you delight your God today Christian? Look to him with your every need. And you will dwell in the warmth of his glorious smile.

Believe him. Trust him. Pray. This is ours, because of Christ Jesus.