Pray Boldly
Do you pray boldly? Or do you pray timidly? Do you ask God for grand things, so grand that only He could grant them? Or do you keep it simple, so you won’t be disappointed and won’t have to justify not receiving?
This Sunday’s lesson from Hebrew should cure you of timid praying! The writer to the Hebrews has spent the first three chapters showing that Jesus is the great High Priest, fully worthy to offer the sacrifice for all sin. We might quickly assume that such a great High Priest is above being bothered about our petty little problems.
But Hebrews assures us “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:15-16, click here for the full passage)
We are promised that we have a Savior who sympathizes with our weaknesses because He has shared in our temptations. Our God does not sit on high waiting to judge, but rather has shared in our struggles and walks with us today. Therefore, we can approach the “throne of grace” — not the throne of power and judgment, like a secular ruler, but a throne from which grace flows — the throne of God.
Not only do we have the privilege of approaching the throne from which grace flows, but we can do so boldly! We approach without fear or shame because the source of grace sympathizes with our condition. We approach boldly, knowing that God wants only the best for us. Of course, sometimes God’s best for us may not be our sense of the best, but we can always trust the one whom we approach! So pray boldly!
This column appeared in the October 14, 2018 issue of St. John’s eNews. Click here for the complete issue.
If you are reading this at a different time, you may click here for the current issue of the eNews.
