" 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
Are you sure of the Christ that lives in you? Do you go to God boldly with your requests?
Did you know that your confidence in God hearing your request is just as important as your knowledge of His ability to accomplish what you ask for?
That is to say that if we are going to God but not expecting Him to hear us, how are our prayers effectual fervent?
“Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”
James 5:16 KJV
As believers we struggle with God's ability to hear us because we unintentionally look at God as someone to barter with. If I do x, then God will do y. As if God operates in transactions instead of relating to us as Father or friend. God loves us and everything He does for us is done in love. Even the things He withholds from us is done in love, but we’ll have a hard time believing that if we think God is being spiteful because we haven’t fulfilled our end of some bargain.
We should pray to God because we love Him, and are trying to get to know Him better. When we pray we are confiding in Him, and building our trust in Him. We should expect Him to speak back to us when we pray, because prayer is a conversation between us and Him. And just like in any other relationship in our lives, we should put effort into talking with God even when we don’t necessarily need something from Him. It’s in this way
we begin to change our view of God from a series of transactions, to a loving relationship.
Another way that can help us understand our relationship with God is to remember that spending time with someone you love also nurtures the love you have for them. Doing things that they like endears you to them and them to you. This is how we build healthy relationships, and the same is true with God. When we fast, give, help someone in need, forgive, love others, and worship Him, we are doing things that He likes. We are getting close to God and as a result we can hear Him clearer. This is also important because God doesn’t yell or scream at us, He speaks in a still small voice, so the closer we get to Him, the better we can hear Him.
“And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.”
1 Kings 19:12 KJV
It’s the confidence in the love cultivated in our relationship that inspires our boldness. When we know that the Creator of the universe is our friend and Father, it empowers us to walk in the privilege given to a friend and child of God.
Knowing that you have an established connection with God helps you to understand Him and how important you are to Him. Matthew 7:11 says,
“If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?”
God loves us, and what He does for us is an extension of His love. We can boldly go to His throne when we understand that any request we make of Him, in His will for our life, is something He had already planned to give us anyway.
What do you say believe? Are you bold?