APPROACH: PRIVILEGE & BLESSING (Approach Part 1)
by Pastor Greg Simon
“Therefore let us [with privilege] approach the throne of grace [that is, the throne of God’s gracious favor] with confidence and without fear, so that we may receive mercy [for our failures] and find [His amazing] grace to help in time of need [an appropriate blessing, coming just at the right moment].” (Hebrews 4:16 AMP)
I once missed out the privilege and the blessing of honestly approaching God’s throne of grace. My thoughts were so consumed with who was watching and who was listening in the room, that my invocation was shackled and my words earth-bound at-best. Seeking the approval of a person robbed me of my Heavenly Father’s pleasure. I was asked to pray, but what was my motive?
We have an open invitation to approach the throne of grace. Approaching the throne in its most common form is prayer, talking to God, personal communion and dialogue with the living God. Prayer has much less to do with the specifics of what we say, and much more to do with the One to whom we are saying it. The significance of prayer is not what we are asking, but the Person we are addressing.
Approach God’s Throne and Grace today and embrace the privilege and blessing of fellowship and intimacy with God. The Lord listens! “I love the Lord because He hears my voice and my prayer for mercy. Because He bends down to listen, I will pray as long as I have breath!” (Psalm 116:1–2 NLT)
Approach and uncover the privilege and blessing of of new information. God said, “Thus says the Lord, the Maker of the earth, the Lord who formed it to establish it; the Lord is His name: ‘Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things which you do not know.’” (Jeremiah 33:2–3 MEV)
In sharp contrast to my personal experience, Jesus didn’t pray in order to gain the praise of people. Jesus did not engage in spiritual disciplines as ends in themselves, but as means to know and obey His Father. Prayer moved Christ Jesus into a straightforward, unequivical link with heaven, and clear-cut reception of direction. Jesus Christ modeled the privilege of approaching the throne of grace with confidence and without fear.