God's Delight in His People

Almighty and everlasting God, you are always more ready to hear than we to pray, and to give more than we either desire or deserve: Pour down upon us the abundance of your mercy, forgiving us those things of which our conscience is afraid, and giving us those good things for which we are not worthy to ask, except through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ our Savior; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

As I read through the Scriptures, the theme that continually stands out to me and is so evident through the entirety of the Bible is God’s delight in His people.

Even through all of the acts of sin, idolatry, and rebellion that we read about the Israelites committing against God, He continues to come after them and call them back to Himself. Why? For the simple reason that He delights in His people.

As I read the Collect for this week, I cannot help but be reminded of this same truth: God delights in His people.

Where “His people” once referred to only the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, – “His people” now refers to those who have been bought and redeemed by the blood of Jesus. As it says in Hosea, “In the place where they were told ‘You are not My people, they will be called sons of God.’” (1:10).

We, who were once not His people, have been brought in and now we are His people. And because we are His people, His delight is in us.

So when this week’s collect says “He is more ready to hear than we are to pray,” it is because it is true. It is His delight to hear from His people.

And when this collect says “He is ready to give more than we desire or deserve,” it is because it is true. He delights in giving good things to His people.

We can ask Him to pour down His abundant mercy because He delights in doing so. We can ask Him to forgive us for things we are afraid about and have confidence in asking for this forgiveness because the price has already been paid for it, and He delights in us.

This is great news. His people bring Him joy, and He delights in having intimacy with us.

Throughout the Scriptures, we see our God contrasted against false gods who “have ears but cannot hear” (Psalm 115:6). Not only do we have a God who can listen, but He does listen, and more than that, He finds great joy in listening. Psalm 116:2 tells us that He bends down to listen to our prayers.

A good parent bends down to listen to what their beloved child has to say. A good friend leans in close to hear what the other wants to tell them. Our God is both a Good Father and a Good Friend, so He is bending down and leaning in close to intentionally listen to every word you utter in prayer. He is eager to hear what you have to say, even in instances when you don’t have the words. More important than the words you say is the closeness and intimacy that is experienced. 

And yes, He is God which means He knows what we are going to say even before we say it. Yet, He still wants to hear from us. He is still eager. He is still intently leaned in. He still delights in our prayers because He delights in us.

So the next time you’re struggling to make time to pray or have the words to say in prayer, know that we have a God who is more ready to hear from us than we are to pray. He is ready to give better gifts than we are worthy of receiving. And He delights in us more than we can know.