The question I had about favour was this: does God favour us all the time? As children of God are we supposed to be in his favour always? The Psalms teach us to pray that God’s favour would be upon us and others. But for us to pray like this we need to understand the meaning.

Favour here means graciousness and kindness.

For you bless the righteous, O LORD; you cover him with favor as with a shield. – Psalms 5:12

Psalms 101:6-8

 I will look with favor on the faithful in the land, that they may dwell with me;
he who walks in the way that is blameless shall minister to me.
No one who practices deceit shall dwell in my house;
no one who utters lies shall continue before my eyes.
Morning by morning I will destroy all the wicked in the land,
cutting off all the evildoers from the city of the LORD.

Genesis 6:8-9

But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD.
These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God.

According to his word, God’s favour is upon us once we are in right standing with him. Noah who was described as blameless experienced God’s favour. When we are blameless we are in his favour. When we pray for his favour we have a major part to play. We need to make sure that we are in right standing with God. And when we pray for favour for others …we are essentially saying that we pray that they are also in right standing with God so that they can be in his favour.

Psalms 84:11
For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory:
no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.

The verse above says that no good thing will be withheld from those who walk uprightly. So once we do good according to God’s word we will be in his favour. This tells us that we should strive for this each day. Stay in his word and continually pray that we are following him and doing good according to Him.

But there are two other things to consider when we think of favour:
1. Even after we are saved, we are still in the process of becoming like Christ and as we live in a world filled with sin and distraction, we fail all the time. We should not but we do, and so when we need some refining, God allows us to experience the hardship that we need, so that we will get back on track. These are times when he may allow unfavourable things to fall upon us, but this does not mean he leaves us.

2. We need always to remember that God is sovereign, and he favours whom he chooses. There are times when we may not be experiencing his favour. His graciousness may not be upon us, and this may be because he knows best, and we need to experience or go through something because of his great plan. He wants us to grow in Jesus and become more like him each day. He wants us to show his love to the unsaved around us. Maybe we need to go through that sickness trial so that we can compassionately minister to someone else later. But God alone knows, and we need to trust Him. We need to do our part and trust him.

So, the answer to my question is: we may not always be in a place of experiencing his favour in kindness and comfort but he is always watching over us and bringing us through tough times. And once we are in right standing with Him whatever we experience is his will which we must trust in. Even when we are not in his favour, he is there for us.


Proverbs 3:1-12

Trust in the LORD with All Your Heart
​My son, do not forget my teaching,
but let your heart keep my commandments,
for length of days and years of life
and peace they will add to you.
Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you;
bind them around your neck;
write them on the tablet of your heart.
So you will find favor and good success
in the sight of God and man.
Trust in the LORD with all your heart,
and do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make straight your paths.
Be not wise in your own eyes;
fear the LORD, and turn away from evil.
It will be healing to your flesh
and refreshment to your bones.
Honor the LORD with your wealth
and with the firstfruits of all your produce;
then your barns will be filled with plenty,
and your vats will be bursting with wine.
My son, do not despise the LORD’S discipline
or be weary of his reproof,
for the LORD reproves him whom he loves,
as a father the son in whom he delights.