Even the prayer of a man who closes his ear to the law is detestable to the LORD.
This verse connects hearing and praying more closely than the careless reader assumes: He who turns away his ear from listening to the law, even his prayer is an abomination (v. 9). The link between hearing and prayer in Proverbs 28:9 is direct.
He who turns away his ear from listening to the law. The man who refuses to hear what the LORD has commanded has cut off the conversation from his own side. He no longer wishes to know what God has said.
His prayer, however, continues. He still asks for blessings, deliverance, success. The LORD names that prayer an abomination, a thing detested. The reasoning is simple. A man cannot demand to be heard by a God whose voice he has shut out. Compare Isaiah 1:15: "When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide My eyes from you." Prayer is part of a relationship; cutting one half of the conversation corrupts the other.
Proverbs 28:9
9 He who turns away his ear from listening to the law,
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Proverbs 28:9 meaning
This verse connects hearing and praying more closely than the careless reader assumes: He who turns away his ear from listening to the law, even his prayer is an abomination (v. 9). The link between hearing and prayer in Proverbs 28:9 is direct.
He who turns away his ear from listening to the law. The man who refuses to hear what the LORD has commanded has cut off the conversation from his own side. He no longer wishes to know what God has said.
His prayer, however, continues. He still asks for blessings, deliverance, success. The LORD names that prayer an abomination, a thing detested. The reasoning is simple. A man cannot demand to be heard by a God whose voice he has shut out. Compare Isaiah 1:15: "When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide My eyes from you." Prayer is part of a relationship; cutting one half of the conversation corrupts the other.