“And this is the confidence that we have in Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He heareth us.” 1 John 5:14
Dear Ones:
Prayer is not difficult…we are difficult. The Lord, through the writings of the Apostle John, spells out to us with stark clarity the basic conditions, and principles of true, and effective prayer. With regard to the essence of what prayer truly is, and the effect that it should have in and through us, the Lord Jesus lays out before the believer the incomparable privilege and reality of truly coming before the God of heaven. This eternal God on His throne, acknowledged and addressed as He truly is, has become our gracious, good, and giving Father. Scripture unveils to us the fact that God is the Creator in Christ, by the Spirit. We then are brought to see something of what this relationship with the Father should be. By the precious blood of Christ we discover an extraordinary provision by which to live in close proximity to God, to communicate, and commune with Him. You will remember how, in the book of Exodus, Moses would go out to the tent of meeting, or tabernacle, there to meet God. Moses records: “And the Lord spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaks unto his friend.” (33:11) We discover here just how close and real the Lord desires to be to the believer. Perhaps you might say, “Well, I sure am no Moses. How could God ever be that to me?” It is true that we are not Moses. It is also true also that we probably will not see a cloud, as Moses and Israel did, settling at the entrance of the tabernacle when God spoke with Moses. However, as a child of God, who has been born of the Spirit, sealed with that Spirit of promise, having been placed into Jesus Christ who is our life and righteousness, we have been given an access to God that is in some ways superior than that of Moses. Moses was not allowed to go into the Holy of Holies, that very central, and most sacred place in the tabernacle. Only the high priest was permitted to go there once a year. When Jesus rose from the dead after His crucifixion, He went into that heavenly tabernacle with His own blood, ripping the veil that separated the holy place from the “Holy of Holies.” Miracle of miracles, Christ provided a way for man to go into holy proximity to God. It was there, in that picture of God’s established and eternal way of meeting man’s deepest need, that God reveals what He has called us to know, communion with Himself in prayer. Jesus created a “new and living way” into the Holy of Holies. In the book of Hebrews, we read: “Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which He hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, His flesh; And having an high priest over the house of God; let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.” (10:19-22)
The reason for which we are to have confidence, assurance, and boldness, in coming to God, is not because of anything that we have done, or could do. It is because of the sacrifice of Christ, His resurrection, and the subsequent creation of a “way” into the most reverent place where one can meet, and commune, with God. How then can one be sure of this access, and be fully persuaded of true fellowship with God, since there is no earthly tabernacle or temple today? The answer to that very valid consideration is found in Jesus’s words to the Samaritan woman, mentioned in John’s gospel. He told her that the hour would come when one would not worship God upon a certain mountain in Samaria, or in Jerusalem. Then He said: “…the true worshippers shall worship the Father in Spirit and truth.” (4:23)
Dear Father, Grant us to know the proximity of Your presence. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Love, Dad