God’s favor is His unmerited kindness working on your behalf in ways you couldn’t orchestrate yourself. I mean doors opening that should stay closed, opportunities appearing that you didn’t earn, and provisions showing up when resources ran out. Favor isn’t about being better than others or deserving special treatment. It’s about God’s grace positioning you for blessings, giving you influence beyond your credentials, and causing people to be drawn to help you for reasons they can’t explain. You’ve experienced it when things worked out against the odds, when timing aligned perfectly, or when someone inexplicably chose you over more qualified candidates.
The Bible is filled with examples of God’s favor: Joseph went from prison to palace, Esther found favor that saved a nation, Ruth’s faithfulness led to favor that changed her destiny, and Mary received favor to carry the Messiah. God’s favor isn’t random luck or earned reward but His purposeful kindness extended to those He loves. Scripture shows that favor often comes to the humble, the faithful, and those who seek God wholeheartedly. While we can’t manipulate favor, we can position ourselves to receive it by walking in obedience and trusting God’s timing.
These verses reveal how God extends His favor and the blessings that follow when His kindness rests upon our lives.
Bible Verses About God’s Favor In Life
1. Psalm 5:12 – You Bless the Righteous, Lord
Surely, LORD, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favor as with a shield.
New International Version (NIV)
2. Proverbs 3:3-4 – Bind Them Around Your Neck
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.
English Standard Version (ESV)
3. Luke 2:52 – Jesus Grew in Favor with God and Man
And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.
New King James Version (NKJV)
4. Proverbs 8:35 – Whoever Finds Me Finds Life
For whoever finds me finds life and receives favor from the LORD.
New Living Translation (NLT)
5. Genesis 39:21 – The Lord Was with Joseph
But the LORD was with Joseph and extended kindness to him. He granted him favor with the prison warden.
Christian Standard Bible (CSB)
6. Psalm 30:5 – His Favor Lasts a Lifetime
For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for a lifetime; Weeping may last for the night, But a shout of joy comes in the morning.
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
7. Proverbs 12:2 – Good People Obtain Favor from the Lord
A good man obtaineth favour of the LORD: but a man of wicked devices will he condemn.
King James Version (KJV)
8. Acts 7:10 – God Gave Joseph Favor
and rescued him from all his afflictions, and gave him favor and wisdom before Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who made him ruler over Egypt and over all his household.
New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
9. Proverbs 11:27 – Whoever Seeks Good Finds Favor
The one who searches for what is good discovers favor, but if you look for evil—there it is.
The Message (MSG)
10. Esther 2:17 – She Obtained Grace and Favor
And the king loved Esther more than all the women, and she obtained grace and favor in his sight more than all the virgins, so that he set the royal crown on her head and made her queen instead of Vashti.
Amplified Bible (AMP)
11. Psalm 84:11 – The Lord Bestows Favor and Honor
For the LORD God is our sun and shield; he bestows favor and honor. The LORD withholds no good thing from those who have integrity.
New English Translation (NET)
12. Daniel 1:9 – God Had Caused the Official to Show Favor
God had granted Daniel kindness and compassion from the chief official.
Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
13. Psalm 90:17 – May the Favor of the Lord Rest on Us
LORD our God, may you bless us. Make what we do succeed. Please make what we do succeed.
Contemporary English Version (CEV)
14. Proverbs 22:1 – A Good Name Is to Be Chosen
Choose a good reputation over great riches. Being highly respected is better than having silver or gold.
New International Reader’s Version (NIrV)
15. Genesis 6:8 – Noah Found Favor in the Eyes of the Lord
But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.
New King James Version (NKJV)
16. Proverbs 18:22 – He Who Finds a Wife Finds What Is Good
He who finds a wife finds what is good and receives favor from the LORD.
New International Version (NIV)
17. Psalm 106:4 – Remember Me, Lord, When You Show Favor
Remember me, O LORD, when you show favor to your people; help me when you save them.
English Standard Version (ESV)
18. Acts 2:47 – Enjoying the Favor of All the People
praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.
New King James Version (NKJV)
19. Exodus 33:12-13 – You Have Found Favor in My Sight
Moses said to the LORD, “You have been telling me, ‘Lead these people,’ but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. You have said, ‘I know you by name and you have found favor with me.’ If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you. Remember that this nation is your people.”
New Living Translation (NLT)
20. Proverbs 16:7 – When the Lord Takes Pleasure in Anyone’s Way
When a person’s ways please the LORD, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.
Christian Standard Bible (CSB)
21. Luke 1:30 – You Have Found Favor with God
The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God.
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
22. Psalm 41:11 – I Know That You Are Pleased with Me
By this I know that thou favourest me, because mine enemy doth not triumph over me.
King James Version (KJV)
23. 1 Samuel 2:26 – Samuel Continued to Grow in Favor
Now the boy Samuel continued to grow both in stature and in favor with the LORD and with the people.
New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
24. Proverbs 14:9 – There Is Goodwill Among the Upright
The stupid ridicule right and wrong, but a moral life is a favored life.
The Message (MSG)
25. Nehemiah 2:8 – The King Granted My Requests
And the king granted me what I asked, for the good hand of my God was upon me.
Amplified Bible (AMP)
26. Genesis 50:20 – You Intended to Harm Me
As for you, you meant to harm me, but God intended it for a good purpose, so he could preserve the lives of many people, as you can see this day.
New English Translation (NET)
27. Job 10:12 – You Gave Me Life and Showed Me Kindness
You gave me life and faithful love, and Your care has guarded my life.
Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
28. Psalm 44:3 – It Was Your Right Hand and Your Favor
Our ancestors didn’t win the land with their swords; they didn’t gain victory with their weapons. You won it for them by your powerful arm and your shining glory. You did it because you loved them.
Contemporary English Version (CEV)
29. 2 Chronicles 26:5 – God Gave Him Success
He obeyed God during the days of Zechariah. Zechariah taught him to have respect for God. As long as Uzziah obeyed the LORD, God gave him success.
New International Reader’s Version (NIrV)
30. Ruth 2:10 – Why Have I Found Such Favor?
So she fell on her face, bowed down to the ground, and said to him, “Why have I found favor in your eyes, that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?”
New King James Version (NKJV)
31. 1 Samuel 16:22 – David Has Found Favor in My Eyes
Then Saul sent word to Jesse, saying, “Allow David to remain in my service, for he has found favor in my sight.”
New International Version (NIV)
32. Proverbs 13:15 – Good Judgment Wins Favor
Good sense wins favor, but the way of the treacherous is their ruin.
English Standard Version (ESV)
33. Genesis 18:3 – If I Have Found Favor in Your Eyes
and said, “My lord, if I have now found favor in Your sight, do not pass on by Your servant.
New King James Version (NKJV)
34. Psalm 119:58 – I Have Sought Your Face with All My Heart
I have sought your favor with all my heart; be gracious to me according to your promise.
New Living Translation (NLT)
35. Zechariah 12:10 – I Will Pour Out a Spirit of Grace
Then I will pour out a spirit of grace and prayer on the house of David and the residents of Jerusalem, and they will look at me whom they pierced. They will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child and weep bitterly for him as one weeps for a firstborn.
Christian Standard Bible (CSB)
Our Thoughts On What the Bible Says About God’s Favor In Life
God’s favor is His kindness working on our behalf in ways we couldn’t manufacture through our own efforts. Throughout Scripture, favor often came to people in impossible situations: Joseph in prison, Ruth as a foreign widow, Esther as an orphan, Mary as a young peasant girl. Their circumstances didn’t qualify them for favor, but God’s purposeful grace elevated them beyond what made natural sense. Favor isn’t about being better than others but about God choosing to bless and position certain people for His purposes at specific times.
What strikes me most about biblical favor is that it’s often connected to character and faithfulness rather than talent or connections. Joseph found favor because of his integrity, Daniel because of his devotion to God, and Ruth because of her loyalty. While we can’t earn favor or manipulate God into granting it, we can position ourselves to receive it by walking in humility, faithfulness, and wholehearted pursuit of God. Favor flows to those who honor God with their lives.
The most encouraging truth about God’s favor is that it opens doors no human can shut and accomplishes purposes beyond our abilities. When God’s favor rests on your life, opportunities align, provision appears, and influence expands in ways that defy natural explanation. This isn’t about becoming prideful but recognizing that God delights in blessing His children and using them for His glory.
Say This Prayer
Heavenly Father, I ask for Your favor to rest on my life. Not because I deserve it or have earned it, but because You are gracious and kind. Let Your favor surround me like a shield, opening doors that need to open, providing opportunities I couldn’t create, and granting me influence beyond my natural abilities.
Help me to position myself for favor by walking in integrity, faithfulness, and wholehearted devotion to You. Guard my heart from pride when favor comes and from discouragement when I don’t see it manifesting as quickly as I’d like. Teach me to trust Your timing and Your purposes, knowing that Your favor comes when and how You choose.
Use Your favor on my life, not for my own glory but for Yours. Let whatever doors You open, whatever provision You send, and whatever influence You grant be used to advance Your kingdom and bless others. Please help me to steward favor well, remaining humble and grateful rather than entitled.
Thank You that Your favor lasts a lifetime, that You delight in blessing Your children, and that You’re working on my behalf even when I can’t see it.
In Jesus’ gracious Name, Amen.
Evang. Anabelle Thompson is the founder of Believers Refuge, a Scripture-based resource that helps Christians to find biblical guidance for life’s challenges.
With over 15 years of ministry experience and a decade of dedicated Bible study, she creates content that connects believers with relevant Scripture for their daily struggles.
Her work has reached over 76,000 monthly readers (which is projected to reach 100,000 readers by the end of 2025) seeking practical faith applications, biblical encouragement, and spiritual guidance rooted in God’s Word.
She writes from personal experience, having walked through seasons of waiting, breakthrough, and spiritual growth that inform her teaching.
Evang. Thompson brings 12 years of active ministry and evangelism experience, along with over 10 years of systematic Bible study and theological research.
As a former small group leader and Sunday school teacher, she has published over 200 biblical resources and devotional studies.
She specializes in applying Scripture to everyday life challenges and regularly studies the original Hebrew and Greek texts for a deeper biblical understanding.