Breaking Through the Noise: The Assurance of God’s Ear for the Righteous

Jun 24

A woman is pictured sitting in the grass in a yellow floral dress with a soft smile on her face with her eyes shut and hand lifted toward the sky, and the text of Proverbs 15:29 is pictured.

I sometimes feel as if my voice gets lost in all the noise.

The literal noise of my home, extended family, church, and the ever-loud volume of social media. I’ve sometimes wondered if my words are worth hearing. It stops me in my tracks, completely humbled, to realize that a benefit of living obediently and uprightly before God is that He hears me when I speak to Him.

Proverbs 15:29 says, “The Lord is far from the wicked, but He hears the prayer of the righteous” (ESV).

This assurance that God hears the righteous isn’t uttered as a one-time statement by the writer. Scripture is loaded with this promise (Ps 34:15, Jn 9:31, 1 Pet 3:12). Not only does He hear...He also responds to His people. God doesn’t avail Himself to the wicked, but He does make Himself available–interested and involved– with the needs and concerns of the righteous.

Thankfully, Scripture doesn’t leave us guessing how to live as a righteous person. Proverbs is packed with principles for living a morally upright and holy life, and chapter 15 offers rich insight into righteous living:

+ Wisely apply knowledge (15:2)
+ Use our words to speak life (15:4)
+ Heed correction (15:5)
+ Pursue knowledge and discernment (15:14)
+ Fear the Lord (15:16)
+ Be slow to anger (15:18)
+ Forsake laziness (15:19)
+ Listen to wise counsel (15:22)
+ Be slow to speak (15:28)

We are not righteous before God simply because we believe in Jesus and pray. A righteous and holy life lived out before God, by the work of Christ, is one of activity and faith.

We make a daily choice, with action and words to set before us the Law of the Lord: to love Him above all else and to love our neighbor as ourselves. The rich benefit of righteousness is communion with God–and this offers us boundless gifts! It is here the grace of God meets us so richly in prayer. He doesn’t ask for perfection from us but is pleased by the heart that steadily seeks Him and seeks to honor Him with a righteous life. It is this heart that He hears and responds to.

We don’t live righteously to check off a box, but so we may know and be known by God.

What a rich comfort and hope this is. Rejoice and be glad in it today!

Meet the Author
Stephanie Wilcox

Stephanie is an avid tea drinker, thrifter, and reader. Stephanie and her husband, Brandon, live in the Pittsburgh suburbs with their three children, where they enjoy participating in serving the body of Christ together. In the constant pursuit of delight in the Creator, you can most often find her outside with her kids, with bare toes in the grass, hiking, or pulling weeds out of her mediocre garden.