This morning I was reading through Proverbs 28 and verse 9
really stuck out:
He who turns away his ear from listening to
the law,
Even
his prayer is an abomination. – Proverbs 28:9
I remember where the Bible says husbands that don’t live
with their wives in an understanding way can have their prayers hindered (1
Peter 3:7), but here we are told prayers can be an abomination to God. [Abomination:
a vile, shameful, or detestable action; hateful beyond belief.]
Who is the person that turns
away his ear from listening to the law? This would be someone who knows
God’s law, who knows what God desires, yet turns away from these things because
it might not be convenient for them. These
people are everywhere! I think Solomon is referring not so much to
unbelievers, because they don’t generally know God’s law, but to believers – people who call themselves
Christians and may even be going to church.
And that is the danger. There are many people who know God’s
law but have turned their ears away from His law, looking for something they
want to hear.
For
the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to
suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers
to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away
from the truth and turn aside to myths. – 2 Timothy 4:3-4
How do you know if you have turned your ear from listening to the law? Don’t look at your
heart, for The heart is deceitful above
all things and beyond cure (Jeremiah 17:9). Instead, look at your actions,
look at how you are living your life. Certainly your actions do nothing for
your salvation, but your actions and how you live your life are a reflection of
your faith and your belief (faith without
works is useless – James 2:20).
The Message translates Proverbs 28:9 like this:
God
has no use for the prayers
of
the people who won’t listen to him.
Are you listening to God’s word, or have you turned your ear,
deciding there are parts of God’s law that just don’t fit into your life at
this time? Or are you enjoying the benefits of being a child of God?
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