PRAY FOR.....BOLDNESS

Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:16 KJV)

The one True God of Heaven is merciful, loving, compassionate and accessible. He always was, is and will be to those who are called by His Name unto His special purposes.

Access to God is free and open 24/7, with the usual qualifier – you must be born-again. The very fact that the majority of western Christian are unaware of the access and authority we have as believers, testifies to weak church leadership. This does not change the facts on the ground. 

John 1:12 informs directly that "But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name". In other words, when we believe, we receive. In addition, we not only receive but He gives us the right, the power, the dynamic authority to approach Him. On top of all of this, the Holy Spirit Who abides in those who believe and receive, shows us how to pray and interprets our weak words before sending them to Heaven.

Therefore, we above all, have the authority to pray for boldness in our prayers and daily lives and in all we do. Hebrews 4:16 encourages the following:
 -  We must be aware of our position, as Children of God. So now it is simple -come on in. This involves us being proactive in prayer. Reject passivity as most believers do, and just do something - walk forward. Brief and to the point.
 -  Then we are not only to take action, because of our relationship with God, but we can do so with confidence and yes, boldness. Boldness is NOT arrogance but is supreme confidence in the Supreme Judge and King of the Universe. The word "Confidence" is from the Latin "con-meaning with" and "fide-meaning Faith". When we are confident in our believe in God through Christ, we are exercising our Faith and doing so WITH Faith. This is the essence of Authentic Christianity.
 -  Next, if people only knew what the Throne of Grace was! Wow! Personal testimony informs my gratitude at the Grace God has freely extended to me ...and to all who believe. When we were dead in our sin, heading to eternal separation, it was God Who put His Spirit to work to draw me out so I could make a decision to follow Him. I did not do so on my own. Regeneration from death to live is so stunning. Even more so, we get to fall down at the Seat of ALL Love, Mercy, Compassion, Healing, Restoration, Reconciliation and more....all under the umbrella of Grace. This day, it will serve all Christians well to just let this sink in. The Throne of Grace - where the King of all Creation sits, is for the weak, humble at heart and the simple believers like us. What are we waiting for?
 -  Finally, why is this so crucial, as we pray for boldness and yes, loving kindness and the Hand of God? It is so, because this is the only place we CAN go. The Throne of Grace is where we find the Healing Hand of God, the Merciful Mighty Gaze and Magnanimity of the Messiah, the Loving Hands of the Lord....all open to us: rich or poor; sick or well; sinner or saint....and all we have to do is to take Him at His Word, walk up to His Heavenly Throne in humility and expectation and abide in His Truth. There is no greater thing. Amen.

Father in the Name of Jesus, seal these Truth in our hearts - that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us that we abide in the eternal realm with You. Father in my despair, when I was truly lost, You gave me the ability to choose You, because I had no idea how much I needed You. I repent of all my sins, I believe the Gospel as I did the first time and I surrender it all now at the Foot of the Cross and humble take up residence at the great Throne of Heaven, where You have given so much grace to do those who ask and believe and commit. Thank You, oh most kind and gracious Heavenly Father. Thank You Abba, that we have such access. Give us the more and more confidence in Your Word, Your Promises and give us the boldness we need to exercise our Knowledge of You, by walking, talking and drawing closer to You, every day of our temporary lives here on this earth, through Jesus Christ our Great God and King, in His Precious Name I pray, amen.

(Photo Credit Here) 

PRAYERS OF THE BIBLE SERIES: THE BOOK OF GENESIS #7

RESOLVED: CONFIDENT PRAYER BRINGS RESULTS

12 Then he said, “O Lord God of my master Abraham, please give me success this day, and show kindness to my master Abraham. 13 Behold, here I stand by the well of water, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water. 14 Now let it be that the young woman to whom I say, ‘Please let down your pitcher that I may drink,’ and she says, ‘Drink, and I will also give your camels a drink’—let her be the one You have appointed for Your servant Isaac. And by this I will know that You have shown kindness to my master.” (Genesis 24:12-14)

As in the days when Jesus spoke of the unbelievers who looked “for signs and wonders”, many are looking for the same today. They seek  physical manifestation, through signs, instead of trust by Faith. It is the old “Doubting Thomas Syndrome”, which permeates a lot of modern Christianity.  However, this unique prayer, early on in human history, is different in so many ways.

The name of Abraham’s apparent most trusted servant/right hand man is not made known, because the Spirit of the Living God is leading the faithful to focus more on HOW the faithful servant went about his mission. There is some thought that Eliezer was this faithful servant, seeing that he is the closest advisor and friend to the great Abraham. The faithful servant was entrusted by Abraham to go back to his own family in Haran to find a wife  who was not a pagan like the vile Canaanites, for the latter’s son, Isaac. Isaac was the vehicle through whom the God of Heaven would start His new paradigm, via the Hebrews.  Before looking closer at this prayer, please read Genesis 24:6-8 to get the serious instructions to walk away, if the leading of the Lord is not there.

This is an important truth for us Christians, in these last days. We need to remember that whatever we are going through, we ARE going through and it will be a lot easier to let God lead the way. He knows the way, holds sway, rules the day and if He is so inclined to say, we need to just walk away. This is the gist of the teaching from Abraham’s instruction to Eliezer if he discerns the woman not to be what God ordained.

That being said, let us dive, portion by portion, into not just the prayer, but the submissive heart and humility of this servant of Abraham.

-          “Oh LORD God of my master Abraham, please give me success this day” (verse 12a)…being a sent man on a mission, from the Lord’s major prophet of the day, the servant seeks to please the master (Abraham) and not returned empty-handed from this, to which he had sworn to Abraham. The success he seeks is not for his personal gain. There is absolutely nothing wrong with praying for our mission to assist someone else to be a fruitful venture. Unlike the majority of mankind, we do have access to the Throne of Grace, and our Heavenly Father loves it when we just give even the smallest matter to Him.  This way, we exhibit our complete Faith in God.

-          “Behold, here I stand by the well of water….”(verse 13a)….when you and I place a matter before the LORD,  it is absolutely incumbent on us to leave it there and not run hither, tither and yon trying to then try to address the matter ourselves.  When we give something to the Lord, in faith, and pray for His Mighty Hand to bless, address or redress the matter – stay put, don’t try to replace God and allow Him to be Who we say and know He is. Psalm 46:10 is explicit in its instruction “be still and know that I am God”!                              

-          “Now let it be….”(verse  14a)….”let her be the one (verse 14b)…..and by this I will know (verse 14b)….these are the words (prayers) of a man who is confident, firm and completely sure of his relationship with God! The application for us is to do likewise and be clear in our intercession. Such clarity is always answered, at least in my experience, and definitely Abraham’s servant. He had to know the closeness the relationship between his master and the Great God of Heaven Who spoke directly and with no confusion in His Words, to Abraham. So he obviously expected the same kinds of answers and signs from Above, knowing that he was on a mission from one of God’s favored prophets of all time!

Does God answer such confident, bold, direct, clear and expectant prayer? You bet He does. Look at Genesis 24:15 “And it happened…!” It happened! God answered as clearly and directly as Abraham’s servant prayed.

Finally, we must never allow God’s love, grace, mercy and compassion and His answers to our prayers be showered upon us, without being overwhelmed by gratitude. When the Lord answered Abraham’s servant’s intercessory plea on behalf of his master’s request for a wife for Isaac, look at how a true believer in God should respond here in Genesis 24:27 “And he said, “Blessed be the Lord God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken His mercy and His truth toward my master. As for me, being on the way, the Lord led me to the house of my master’s brethren.” 

~Amen~

(Photo credit here)