We approach the throne of grace because we have boldness. We make demands, we fellowship, we pray, we have communion with faith at the throne of Grace. Consequently, we can say that some don’t come boldly to the throne of grace. But the instruction is that we should come boldly to the throne of Grace. Therefore, we can come boldly to the throne of Grace because we have oneness with Christ.
Hebrews 4:16
Praying is a communion with the Father.
1 John 5: 14-15; We are bold because we are one with Christ.
We have learnt that our faith in the New Testament as believers in Christ is no longer our responsibility. The premise of our faith is on what the father accomplished through his son.
Paul said “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. Gal 2:20.
So it is no longer our faith but the faith of the son of God.
In our previous teachings in this series, we saw how Hebrews 11 described the faith of the men of old and the scripture says their faith was good and they have good testimonies. Still Hebrews 11:40 tells us that as good as their faith was, we have something better. So if there is a better resurrection, there is a better faith. Hence, approach God boldly, so as believers we don’t beg God because he is our father.
We are good because we are one with the Father. Now we can approach God boldly. As sons we do not beg God. We cannot be begging our fathers for what we need.
There is no point praying to God without confidence or if such a person does not believe that God hears. We need to come to that point where we approach God with confidence. When we understand this our prayer life will change.
Our approach to prayer will change. Our approach to God will be with a different mindset. Our labour in prayer will now be to know the will of God. We labour in the place of prayer to know and check if what we are asking is in the will of God.
When we do this we come to Him with boldness. Our labour should be that what we are asking for is in line with the will of God. This is because we are one already. Our oneness is to check that what we are asking for align with his will.
We are not asking for anything outside the fellowship we have with Him. We are not also asking whether He will answer or not.
The moment we want what He wants then we can say, we are fulfilled. Our oneness with God comes with the confidence we have in Him. Whatever we need, He needs it. This is how we should have such understanding.
The story of Hannah should be a lesson to us all. She has been going to Shiloh. She has been praying concerning the state of her barrenness. Her husband had another wife.
However, in that year she said she changed the approach to her prayer. The prayer she prayed shows that she prayed what the Lord needed. She said the Lord should give her a male child and she would give it to the Lord back.
1 Samuel 1:9-11
She prayed the very heart of the Lord. As at the time when she was praying there is a need for a prophet for the children of Israel. The sons of Eli had become wayward. God was deliberately searching.
Hannah did not ask for a child. She said the Lord should give her a male child. In the history of Hannah going to Shiloh for the first time, her need collided with the need of God.
She did not pray for her selfish interest to reproach those that were reproaching her. For the first time, Hannah prayed the right prayer.
What we should understand is the will of God. We should always know that what we desire such as legitimate ones are God’s will. Prosperity, healing, and relationships are all the will of God. Our inquiries into these should be our labour in knowing the will of the Father concerning them in our lives.
It is the will of God that no one should be barren or in lack. The next is to align His desire to our desire. We should keep asking the questions why we want them. They must be aligned to the Father’s will.
As a result of our communion with God, we can know when to have them by reason of the Father’s communion with us.
As individuals there are certain areas God will tell us to deny ourselves. We just have to be in tune with Him. We just have to be one with Him in every detail of our life. This makes our prayer to be different from anyone that does not have such understanding.
The reason why some prayers do not get answered is because we do not know and are not walking in line with the Father’s will in that area of our life. This is because what He is doing right now is not what we are currently facing.
The time zone of everyone’s life is different. This does not make God to be less faithful to others.
When we pray according to His will we are sure He listens. We are also sure we are in His will. We must check out for those two parameters. We have confidence and boldness that He hears. When we know His will then we will approach God with confidence.
Kenneth Hagin said he doesn’t just pray over any matter until he has spent three days searching the scriptures to know what the mind of God is, once that is done, prayer is faster. He said he has never fasted on any matter for three days, but he can fast and pray, study the word of God, to know the mind of God, once this is done, he begins to pray.
It’s a fast way to pray, a smarter walk, than praying for what God is not interested in. There are things that you can’t force into your life if that is not the season that Abba father has ordained for it to happen. You will only struggle and begin to think God does not answer prayers.
There are times we pray and we are not sure that God can answer the prayer, because of surrounding circumstances. What you should do first is to bring yourself to a place where you know Jesus answers prayers.
Before you come, you must believe that he is, Don’t start coming until you believe that he is, he listens and responds. Jesus will say “Thank you Father because I know you always hear me.” He was so sure because they were one. He has told everyone who cares to listen that they are one, what he wants is what the father wants. The father’s interest is Jesus’s interest, as well as desire and burden.
Jesus showed us a pattern in prayer. If the Father cannot deny Jesus, he can’t deny you. It’s this assurance that we use to come to the place of prayer. It is the devil shifting our focus from the power of Jesus’s name that makes us use fire in the place of Jesus’ name.
That is lack of faith. Jesus said “In my name,” he didn’t say “In the name of fire.” We didn’t get to this point just like that. Jesus bled, died, and rose. He is now seated with his father. So calling on the God of Abraham, Jehovah El Roi, etc, is a waste of time, it’s not scriptural. It worked in the Old Testament and is no longer active in the New Testament.
God didn’t give us blood or fire, so shouting the blood of Jesus is also a waste of time. He gave us the name. What name did he give us? Not Elohim, not El Roi.. Those names came as a result of experiences men of the bible days had with the father, for instance, “Jehovah Jireh” was the name Abraham called God when he was about to sacrifice Isaac, when God provided a Lamb for the sacrifice. God didn’t call himself that.
The only name that God gave us is the name of Jesus. We need this boldness, the economy and the issues in the land are wearing out this boldness, and even the enemy is attacking this boldness. One might lose their jobs or things that are precious to them, but if boldness, faith in the name of Jesus, and focus are intact one can get everything back in bigger and better forms.
If the devil succeeds in shifting your gaze, focus, attention, and confidence in the name of Jesus, that’s when I know he has gotten you. God makes all things new. Prayer must be done in faith and by faith. It’s this boldness that we have that God hears us, that makes us come to him boldly.
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As believers when you fall to sin you shouldn’t run away from God; rather you should run towards him. His arms are wide open because He’s your father “Abba father”.
You should also know that any part of your life that doesn’t work does not glorify Him.
Furthermore God is not punishing you for your error with a trying situation because God never does evil, there is no evil in Him. He never punishes or tempts His children with evil.
When you go through the scriptures you’ll find out that grace and mercies of God are more pronounced in the lives of people that look as if they’ve lost it.
Therefore emphasis is being made on the fact that prayers must be made in faith or do not pray at all because there’s no point praying if it’s not done in faith.
All you need to do is check the parameters such as; 1. Are you aware he listens and hears? 2.What you’re asking for; is it in line with God’s will and purpose for your life?
You should know by this time that tears and emotional blackmail do not move the father; what moves God is faith.
We rejoice always regardless of whatever situation we find ourselves in. When your medical report is unpleasant, you rejoice, you are not happy about it but you rejoice. Rejoice always regardless of any hardship or challenges just rejoice. That is an atmosphere of the holy ghost, when we rejoice we are imposing an atmosphere over an atmosphere that we can see.
There is an atmosphere the world does not understand, there is an economy the world does not understand. When we rejoice we impose the atmosphere of the spirit, the atmosphere of the supernatural over the physical.
If you don’t rejoice you wont get projects done, you will get drowned in the atmosphere of the current state of the economy but when we rejoice we superimpose an atmosphere that is more superior to this atmosphere that we can see. In fact, this is the time to be saturated with the word of God, with the boldness in our oneness with christ..
It is a time and season that you can not sit on the fence. In the midst of hardship, famine and challenges, when men say there is a casting down we will say there is a lifting for our soul. In the midst of all these hardships, see me flourishing, see me increasing, see God showering me with his goodness and kindness. Our rejoicing is from this realm, you can’t rejoice when your whole estimation and analysis is on the situation of things.
Philippians 4:5-8, verse 6 says we should be anxious for nothing. The scripture precedes the existence of Nigeria, it precedes the current situation you are going through. It says but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving , we should make our request known to God.
What do we meditate on? Do we fix our hearts on the rising cost of living and the unstable economy? What you focus on becomes your reality. Choose to meditate on a good report. As you meditate an atmosphere is created which is superior to what is being experienced at the moment. When you see someone rejoicing in a seemingly negative situation, such a person is intentional and purposeful. He is conscious of the peace of God that guides his heart and mind in Christ Jesus.
When we know that our God hears us, we pray and come to the throne of mercy with boldness. We pray with this boldness because we know that our visions, will, dreams and intentions align with his. All we do is follow him. So, if we will not pray in faith, then we should not pray at all.
If we see men praying for a long period we should not be envious. It is also possible that they are praying out of fear. Length of prayer sometimes does not connote faith. We should check ourselves when we are praying to be sure it is not out of fear.
Peter was led out of the prison by the Holy Ghost to the gathering of believers praying for his release. Unfortunately, the answer to their prayers came but they couldn’t accept that it was true. On the other hand, Rhoda identified Peter’s voice when he came around but the others did not believe the news. Their actions connotes unbelief. As we pray, I will encourage us to pray with faith, believing that he is, he listens and on this premise, we come boldly. We know that we will prevail when we pray in faith.
Acts 12:12-16