Tag: approaching the Throne

When the World Suggests Otherwise

Philippians 4:6
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

It is easy to read Philippians 4:6 and come away with the simple thought that God encourages us and desires for us to bring Him our prayer requests. This interpretation is absolutely true. But when we break it down, we find that God is saying much, much more to us.

First, and foremost, we are being taught to be anxious in nothing. Does that make any sense? Surely we all have daily concerns and cares that we need to attend to as good stewards of our provisions, our relationships and our own spiritual condition. God is aware of these due concerns, but He is giving us the command to trust in Him. He knows our needs better than we know our needs. He is actually calling on us to have peace and comfort when the world would suggest otherwise.

After first resting in the comfort of His promise, then we are urged to go to Him in prayer with our requests. But there is a stipulation attached as He commands that we bring our thanksgiving in advance of our requests. Why does He ask us to come with thanksgiving? Again, it is for our peace and comfort. When we bring our thanksgiving, we are reconciling with Him all the favor and blessing that He has provided in the past. This positions us to approach His Throne with the confidence that everything we ask for will be addressed and answered perfectly according to our needs, our real needs.

If we are in line with the passage to this point, then our thankful, angst free mindset will help us to meet the last command in this passage which is to let our requests be known to God – not to men. This is a not so subtle reminder that it is not our job to manipulate our circumstances through our own capability. Instead we are to depend on Our Heavenly Father for everything in our lives. In exchange for following His supplication process, peace will be our companion.

Let us go to Him in thanksgiving, adoration and trust. Let us rest in His peace as we wait for His provision.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your unconditional love and Your forgiveness through Your Son, Jesus. We ask forgiveness for coming to You so often with our needs alone, accompanied by a stark absence of our professed love for You and our expression of our sincere thanks for all that You provide. Teach us, Lord, how to seek Your presence in our lives. Teach us how to fully trust in You throughout each and every day. Teach us how to use our prayer lives to build our relationships with You. We ask all these things in the name of the One whose mercies and miracles never come to an end, Jesus Christ.

The Infallible Mercy Seat

Hebrews 4:16
Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

The buddy bench has shown up in children’s playgrounds at elementary schools. It is a bench placed on the edge of the play area. It serves as a silent summons for help or support. When a child needs a friend, he or she sits on the buddy bench. When a child feels left out or left behind, he or she sits on the buddy bench. When a child longs for a helping hand, a listening ear, an empathetic soul, he or she sits on the buddy bench. This precious playground seat carries no stigma nor shame; it merely issues an unspoken invitation for comfort.

As we approach the new year, how many of us are already in need of comforting support? As we find ourselves burdened by broken relationships, financial challenges or perhaps trouble at work, whom among us would not like to look up in the center of our day’s activities and see a buddy bench where we could go to find the aid that we need.

Fortunately for all of us, the buddy bench has been in place for us throughout our days on this earth. In every challenging time or moment in our lives, we have the infallible mercy seat of Jesus Christ to turn to. Our Savior King is waiting on us to turn to Him for all of our present needs. His seat summons us to come with our burdens. We are graciously invited to the mercy seat where grace reigns. We can go to His throne with boldness. There is no stigma or shame in seeking His aid. In fact, it is quite the opposite. God is glorified when we go to His throne to seek the comfort of the Advocate that is there for us, Jesus Christ.

Let us go boldly to the mercy seat in our times of need. Let us confidently accept the invitation to draw near to the Throne of Grace. Let us rejoice in knowing that our all-sufficient Lord is waiting for us to take a seat of comfort beside Him.

Let us also be mindful of those in the world that do not yet know Our Savior King. Let us be ready to provide a buddy bench for them.

Prayer
Heavenly Father we thank You for the mercy seat that You have provided for all men. We rejoice in knowing that we have a Comforter that waits to hear from us. We bless the name of Jesus who insured that our every need will be met when He died on the Cross for us. We come to you boldly and confidently to receive the merciful pardon of our sins, the grace that we need to purify our souls, as well as, all that is required for our daily needs. We ask all these things in the name of Our Advocate, Our Comforter, Our King, Jesus Christ.