Questions About Prayer And Conversation

December 2020 – Grace & Truth Magazine

QUESTION: In Malachi 3:16, was the Lord listening to the conversations of those who feared Him as though these conversations were prayers? Were these conversations similar to or different from prayer? Why did these people converse with one another rather than pray directly to the Lord? Will God listen when we share our problems or concerns with our godly friends?

“Then those who feared the LORD spoke to one another, and the LORD listened and heard them, so a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who fear the LORD and who meditate on His name.” — Malachi 3:16 NKJV

ANSWER: It is important that we read and study the verses of God’s Word in their context, rather than pulling them out from what precedes or follows. This will help us to understand what the verses are meant to say and keep us from misunderstanding or misapplying them. It is good to ask in order:

1. What is this passage saying?
2. What does it mean?
3. How does it apply to my life?

The book of Malachi is God’s last word in the Old Testament to His earthly people Israel. One thousand years earlier at Mount Sinai, after having been delivered from slavery in Egypt, they had promised to do all that the Lord would tell them (Ex. 19:8). But they wickedly disobeyed the Lord again and again, often turning to the idols of neighboring nations. The Lord chastened them and eventually let their enemies take them into captivity. Several relatively small groups returned and rebuilt the temple and the walls of Jerusalem, as recorded in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah. All seemed good for a few years, but then the people again turned from the Lord and intermarried with their heathen neighbors, while keeping up a façade of worshiping Him. Through the prophet Malachi, the Lord confronted His people with their sins, but to each of His statements they gave an insolent, or rude and arrogant, answer. This went on for the 400 years between Malachi’s time and the beginning of the New Testament in Luke 1, and even beyond.

While this was the condition of the people as a whole, there were a few who sought to go on faithfully with the Lord. In our verse in Malachi they are referred to as “those who feared the Lord.” They knew one another and often spoke to each other. God tells us in Luke 1–2 about some who were faithful: Zacharias, Elizabeth, Mary, Joseph, some shepherds, Simeon and Anna. The last, a very elderly lady, shared the good news of the newborn Savior with “all those who looked for redemption in Jerusalem” (2:38). Thus we see these people knew one another.

Not only did the people who feared the Lord know each other, God, who knows all things, listened and heard them. Certainly He heard their prayers, but He listened to their conversations too. This we see beautifully recorded in these chapters of Luke. We read how Elizabeth greeted Mary when Mary came to visit her, and how Mary replied (1:39-55). Later, we hear the shepherds making “widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child” (2:17). We are told much more in these chapters as to what God heard while He listened to these faithful few.

These sayings and conversations were not prayers. In Zacharias’s case they were expressions of doubt and later of faith and praise. The angel Gabriel told him that his prayer was heard (1:13). God could have given us their prayers had He wanted to, but here we see Him sharing the words He heard spoken by His “jewels,” as He called them in Malachi 3:17. He is interested in our conversations too, especially when we are occupied with His interests. He is interested in every detail of our lives.

God certainly is attentive to our problems and concerns. He hears us sharing them with our friends and associates. Does He perhaps think: Why doesn’t he (or she) share them with Me? He invites us to bring all our weaknesses, needs and concerns to Him in prayer. The throne of grace is available to us at all times. He is never too busy to listen to us.

As a wise father, He does not guarantee to answer all our prayers with a quick yes. A no may be more in order, or perhaps wait a bit. He can listen to twenty million prayers – even more – at once, and keep them all straight, and this while watching and listening to all our conversations and even reading all our thoughts! So great is God; and while He knows all, He delights to hear us bring our concerns to Him in prayer. Let’s give Him that joy today!

Answered by Eugene P. Vedder, Jr.