Look through Scripture, and you’ll find ordinary people God used in powerful ways. They clearly had His anointing, protection, and extraordinary blessings (God’s favor). For the most part, God’s favor is inexplicable. However, there are some things you can do that can help you access his favor. So, how do we unlock the favor of God?
To unlock God’s favor, we must seek wisdom, be humble, fear God, and keep His commandments. We also position ourselves for the favor of God by having a contrite heart, being of service to others, and building God’s kingdom on earth.
What Is God’s Favor?
Favor is evidence that God is delighted with a person or that a believer has God’s approval. When we have favor, it means our hearts and actions please the Lord, and He will show Himself strong on our behalf (2 Chronicles 16:9).
God seeks out those who love Him and His commands so that He can bestow favor. But just because we have God’s favor, it doesn’t mean we will not have any difficulties. Many servants of God in the Bible who had God’s favor didn’t have an easy life.
Take the story of the Israelites, for example. While they were slaves in Egypt, the Lord gave them favor in the sight of the Egyptians (Exodus 3:21). It’s because of God’s favor that they could ask Egyptians (their masters who had enslaved them for years) for silver, gold, jewelry, and clothing. Because of God’s favor, the people of Israel (slaves) did not leave destitute but in victory over those who had oppressed them.
How To Unlock God’s Favor
Seek Wisdom
In Luke 2:52, the Bible records that Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature which also led to an increase in favor with God and with man. From this, we can infer that an increase in wisdom leads to an increase in favor.
In 1 Corinthians 1:24 and 30, Paul calls Christ “wisdom.” Wisdom is represented as a saving role in providing insight, revelation, and providential guidance. It leads people to a way of life that is in harmony with God’s redemptive work. For us to have wisdom, we are to let the word of Christ dwell in us to instruct one another (Colossians 3:16). Wisdom calls to the virtuous life and guides us to choices that honor God and benefit others. Through a righteous life, we can unlock God’s favor.
The Lord(who is the Wisdom) invites us to seek His favor (Zephaniah 2:3). When we seek God’s favor, He listens to us and answers our prayer or plea (2 Kings 13:4). Proverbs 8:35 says, “For those who find me [Wisdom] find life and receive favor from the LORD. God often extends His favor to those who walk in His wisdom and seek His counsel earnestly.
Be Humble
To unlock the favor of God, we must have humility before God and others. The opposite of humility is pride, and God warns us against having pride (Proverbs 11:2; 16:5, 16:18). The kind of pride that God hates stems from self-righteousness or being conceited because such sin prevents us from seeking God. Pride is one of the traits of wicked people in the last days (2 Timothy 3:1–5).
The Bible tells us that the proud are so consumed with themselves that their thoughts are far from God(Psalm 10:4), and they also boast about their wisdom, might, and worldly achievements (Jeremiah 9:23-24). Pride also causes us to exalt ourselves over others. But humble people understand they are limited in what they can do without God’s favor. So we must humble ourselves to be exalted (Luke 14:11, 1 Peter 5:6) and receive God’s favor.
Have a Contrite Spirit
Isaiah 66:2 explains that God favors those with a contrite spirit. To have a contrite spirit means we feel remorse over our wrongdoing and seek repentance for our sins. Isaiah 57:15 tells us that God dwells in the Holy Place with those whose spirits are contrite. This Scripture also points to the fact that those who are contrite or broken-hearted find divine favor with God.
The confessional prayer in Psalm 51 is personal for David, but it also provides a framework for how believers should have a contrite heart. When we have a contrite spirit, we turn to God to confront the guilt and shame of sin. We don’t allow sin to harden our hearts (Ephesians 4:18); instead, we remember who our salvation comes from (2 Corinthians 5:21) and what we need to do to have it, i.e., reject evil in all its forms.
Fear God
To unlock God’s favor, man must be accountable and fear God. In 2 Corinthians 5:11, Paul writes about the fear of the Lord not as a reference to being scared but as a sign of respect because he knows he will face God on the day of judgment. The fear of God is also seen as the fountain of life that saves the soul (Matthew 10:28, Proverbs 14:27).
As believers, we will all appear before the judgment seat of Christ and be judged according to the works we have done so to avoid eternal damnation we must please God in all that we do. Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 tells us that the whole duty of a man is to fear God and keep His commandments and that God will bring every work into judgment, whether good or evil, including those done in secret.
Psalm 112:1 tells us that those who fear the Lord greatly delight in his commands. When we fear the Lord and delight in His word, we align ourselves with His will and purpose. As a result, our reverence and obedience positions us to receive God’s favor.
Furthermore, most of us are afraid to surrender to God fully. The call to fully surrender to God is to acknowledge that God controls every aspect of our lives and is sovereign over all circumstances. When we surrender, we release burdens and align our will with God, which unlocks favor.
Be of Service
To access God’s favor, we must serve others with a pure heart (Genesis 39:4). Serving helps us to be more like Jesus, who came to serve others and not to be served (Matthew 20:28; Mark 10:45).
Jesus, a servant in God’s kingdom, set an example for us today through everything He did while He ministered (Luke 22:27; Philippians 2:6–7). This means that a servant in the example of Christ services others as a neighbor, friend, spouse, parent, family member, or church member in a way that ensures God’s kingdom grows.
Conclusion
God’s favor is powerful and profound. Because of favor, we gain divine access to places, people, and things that we wouldn’t otherwise. But to gain favor, we must be humble, have wisdom, and a contrite spirit, and serve, and honor God.
