Tag Archives: prayer

Boldly Approaching God’s Throne

Posted on by under Christian Living, Love of God

Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.  For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.  Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need (Hebrews 4:14-16).

            Oftentimes we may look at prayer as a commanded ritual or a timid request before a distant God.  While we must be humble before God, the Hebrews writer paints a different picture with regards to our prayer life.  God wants us to draw near to Him with confidence.  He wants us to come boldly before His throne to receive grace and mercy.  Our confidence in so doing doesn’t come from ourselves or what we have merited by our own actions.  It is only because of the work of Jesus upon the cross that we have this access through our High Priest (Hebrews 10:19-22).

            Jesus is a High Priest who understands us.  He came down from heaven and dwelt among us (John 1:14).  While He had no faults or sins of His own, He has been tempted in all ways like we have.  There is no temptation that we face that Jesus has not overcome Himself.  When we speak to the Father through Jesus, we have a mediator who can empathize with our struggles.

            Prayer for us should never be a burden.  It is a magnificent lifeline direct to the throne of God.  Men living before the cross of Jesus did not have this kind of access to God.        However, since Jesus shed His blood for us, and since we can make contact with that blood through baptism (being buried with Him – Romans 6:3-4), we can now approach the throne of God 24 hours a day 7 days a week.

            We don’t have to come with timidity, like the human high priests did once a year on the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16).  We can draw near to God with confidence, knowing that we are His beloved children, and that He longs to hear from us.

Instant Messaging

Posted on by under Christian Living

Texting     Have you ever prayed for God to take care of some problem that you had, and then wondered what the answer to that prayer would be? It is especially difficult for us as Americans to be patient in waiting for a response. We are so accustomed to fast food, microwave ovens, and instant messaging that we expect immediate results. Additionally, it may be that the answer to our prayer is “not now,” and so we have to wait awhile for the result. This is a normal situation, but during the time of Hezekiah, he received an instant response to one of his prayers.

     As 2 Kings 20 opens Hezekiah is sick to the point of death. Isaiah the prophet comes to him to instruct him to put his house in order, for he will soon die. This leads to Hezekiah’s prayer, and the text tells us that he prayed with such fervor that he wept bitterly (2 Kings 20:2). His prayer was heard and his tears were seen by the Lord. Before Isaiah could even exit Hezekiah’s house, he was told to return to Hezekiah with an updated message (2 Kings 20:4-5). Hezekiah was not going to die yet. Instead the Lord granted him another 15 years on this earth. God was prepared for Hezekiah’s prayer, because God knows all things even before they occur.

     Likewise when we pray to the Lord, He already knows what it is that we will say and what it is that we need (Matthew 6:8). Still, He wants for us to come to Him in prayer. We are no different than Hezekiah in that respect. God knew that He would heal Hezekiah, but yet He waited for Hezekiah’s prayer. God has the power to answer all our prayers in an instant. Whether the answer comes instantly or over the course of time, our part is to pray with the earnest expectation that God will hear and answer our prayers (James 1:6-8).

The Sinner’s Prayer

Posted on by under Doctrine

prayer     Many times we may hear those in the world refer to salvation by simply praying Jesus into our hearts, or by reciting the ‘sinner’s prayer.’ Is this really all there is to salvation? Is this all that God requires of man for accepting His grace? While there are many places in scripture we could look for the answer to this question, let us consider just one example.

     The story of the conversion of Saul of Tarsus is fairly well known. Saul was on the road to Damascus when he was surrounded by a bright light and heard a voice from heaven. It was the Lord instructing Saul to go into Damascus, where it would be told to him what he must do in order to be saved. Once he had arrived in Damascus, Saul prayed to the Lord and fasted for three days (Acts 9:8-11). Then Ananias come to Saul and told him, “And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord” (Acts 22:16 NKJV).

     Notice in this account that Saul saw the Lord, he heard the Lord speak, and he prayed and fasted for three days. And yet Saul was not saved from his sins until he was baptized. This should indicate to us that simply trying to pray Jesus into our hearts will not absolve us of our sins. Nowhere in scripture do we find any reference to the ‘sinner’s prayer,’ or the idea of salvation by prayer alone. It should seem obvious that if Saul had to be baptized after his religious experience to have his sins removed, then we must be baptized for the remission of our sins as well.

Esther’s Courage

Posted on by under Christian Living

Ester_y_Mardoqueo_escribiendo_la_primera_carta_del_Purim_(Ester,_9-20-21)_-_Aert_de_GELDER_-_Google_Cultural_Institute     In the twelfth year of the reign of King Ahasuerus of Persia, Haman, the king’s right hand man, issued a decree that in eleven months all of the Jews within the Persian Empire were to be executed. Haman was looking to wipe out the Jews because Mordecai, a Jew living in the Persian capital of Shushan, refused to bow down to him. The decree was sealed with the king’s signet ring, which he had given to Haman. This meant that the decree carried the authority of the king, and under Persian law it could not be rescinded (Esther 3:7-12).

     Unbeknownst to Haman, King Ahasuerus’ wife Esther was the cousin of Mordecai. Thus she was also a Jew. What would become of Esther and her nation? Would they be wiped out by this decree? When news of the planned massacre reached the ears of Mordecai, he pleaded with Esther to appeal to the king (Esther 4:1-9). Esther had not been summoned to appear before the king for some thirty days, however. In Persian law and custom, it was illegal to appear before the king if not summoned. If Esther appeared in the king’s court and did not curry his favor by having him extend his scepter towards her, Esther could be put to death (Esther 4:10-12)! What would Esther do?

     Although she was initially reluctant to appear before the king for fear of death, Esther was finally convinced by Mordecai to go before the king. Mordecai urged Esther to go to the king by saying, “[perhaps] you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this” (Esther 4:14b NKJV).   Esther showed a great deal of courage and faith in God to go to the king’s court and inquire with the king. Esther’s bold action saved her people and exposed Haman before the king as the bitter, arrogant man that he was. Instead of Mordecai and the Jewish nation being wiped out, Haman and his whole household were destroyed. Mordecai and Esther became prominent members of the ruling class of Persia.

     Are we, like Esther, afraid to approach the King? Do we hesitate to come before our Lord and King in prayer due to feelings of fear, inferiority, or hopelessness? Like Esther we should have the courage to boldly come before the throne of God with our prayers and petitions (Hebrews 4:16). Even though God already knows what we need before we ask for it, He still desires that we come before Him (Matthew 6:8). We need not fear that we are “wasting God’s time” with our requests and prayers of thanksgiving. God loves us, and He wants to hear from us. Therefore, let us continue to come before the throne of our Lord and Ruler in prayer.

A Quiet Life

Posted on by under Christian Living

In our current political climate, it seemed appropriate to me to re-post this article from 3 years ago. Not much seems to have changed since then . . .

Dale Babinsky's avatarsalvation's path

quiet lifeIn this day and age we see and hear much on the TV, the radio, and on the internet regarding our political leaders on both sides of the aisle. Most of the time, the information is a negative comment or complaint about one party or the other. While our politicians may leave much to be desired and give us many opportunities to complain, the question we should ask is are we praying for these people?

To understand why we should pray for them we should look into God’s word. Paul writes that we are to pray for all men, but then calls special attention to kings and all who are in positions of authority (1 Timothy 2:1-2). God’s divine directions are that we are to pray for our leaders. The admonition to pray for all men (1 Tim 2:1) and to pray for our enemies (Mat. 5:44) would mean that…

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Ask, Seek, and Knock

Posted on by under Christian Living

knocker-164072_640     Imagine that you have a friend who comes knocking on your door at midnight tonight looking for three loaves of bread in order to feed his guests.  How would you react?  Would you direct them to the nearest Walmart?  Jesus said, “Which of you shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves; for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; and he will answer from within and say, ‘Do not trouble me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give to you’?” (Luke 11:5b-7 NKJV).  Even though the two people are friends, Jesus points out that the one will not get out of bed to help the other because of their friendship, but because of persistence (Luke 11:8).

     In looking at the context of the passage, it is quickly observed that Jesus is teaching them about prayer (Luke 11:1-4; 9-10).  Therefore, when we look at the story of persistence, what we should get out of that is our need to be persistent in our prayers to God.  Oftentimes we may feel that we are bothering God, or that we have already prayed about a certain issue and so we do not persist.  But if we are praying for God’s will to be done, we should persist.

     Notice that Jesus tells His disciples, “So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened” (Luke 11:9-10).  Did you notice the first letter in each of the three things Jesus told them to do?  They are to ask (A), seek (S), and knock (K).  In other words, they are to continue to ASK God for what they need.  As followers of Jesus, we are to be persistent in our prayer life and keep asking, seeking, and knocking!  If you are seeking God, we would be happy to help.  Come and see what God has done for us!

Can You Carry Me?

Posted on by under Article

117-1713_IMG     When my daughter was much younger we all went on a hiking vacation together to Acadia National Park in Maine.  Each day as we hiked, she had little desire to take the easy paths.  She loved to hike the more difficult paths and climb over the rocks, all the while looking for the next trail marker.  At some point in the day, however, her little legs would tire out.  She would turn to me and ask, “Can you carry me, Daddy?”

     There are times when we are walking in our journey of life, where we feel the same way.  We don’t know if our tired legs will hold up any longer, we grow weary, and we want someone to carry us.  It is at those times that we should rely upon the Lord to help carry us along.  The words of scripture tell us that “God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble” (Psalm 46:1 NKJV).  “In God is my salvation and my glory; The rock of my strength, And my refuge, is in God” (Psalm 62:7).  Jeremiah called out to God and said, “O Lord, my strength and my fortress, My refuge in the day of affliction” (Jeremiah 16:19a).

     Jesus offers to help us get through life, if we will choose to follow Him.  He told His disciples, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30).  He wants to help us to continue to endure, when we are weary of life and its struggles.  Therefore, why would we hesitate to come to Him?

     As a child of God, we can come to Him and ask Him to help us bear our load.  If we will only do our part, by obeying Him and coming to Him in prayer with our requests, He is faithful to hear us and to come to our aid.  Notice that Jesus said that we are to come to Him when we are heavy laden.  Have you come to Jesus?  If not, why not?  He is waiting for you now!

A Quiet Life

Posted on by under Christian Living

quiet lifeIn this day and age we see and hear much on the TV, the radio, and on the internet regarding our political leaders on both sides of the aisle. Most of the time, the information is a negative comment or complaint about one party or the other. While our politicians may leave much to be desired and give us many opportunities to complain, the question we should ask is are we praying for these people?

To understand why we should pray for them we should look into God’s word. Paul writes that we are to pray for all men, but then calls special attention to kings and all who are in positions of authority (1 Timothy 2:1-2). God’s divine directions are that we are to pray for our leaders. The admonition to pray for all men (1 Tim 2:1) and to pray for our enemies (Mat. 5:44) would mean that we are to pray for those politicians that we do not agree with as well. This may seem like a hard thing to do, but as with all of God’s commands there is a purpose to this instruction.

We are to pray that our leaders will follow God’s plan so that we may live a quiet and peaceable life (1 Tim. 2:2). We may think that we have extraordinarily bad rulers, and that there is no way that we can pray for immoral leaders. However, consider that Paul is writing to Timothy at the time of the Roman Empire, which reached new heights of decadence, idolatry, and immoral living.

If Paul, Timothy, and those first century Christians could pray for the Roman Emperors, certainly we can do the same for our leaders today. If we want our leadership to improve, if we truly want to live a quiet life at peace with those around us, then the solution needs to start with each of us doing our part to pray for all leaders.