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 4:16 NKJV
There have been times in my life when I've approached the throne room with bold prayers for a family member struggling with addiction, for my mom who was battling stage four cancer, or for a fallen friend who seemed to have a heart of stone. Why did I turn to God during these hopeless moments? Because Jesus encourages us to come to God boldly and with persistence and expectation. The time has come to shake off our half-hearted approach to prayer and make a passionate pursuit to the throne room!
In Luke 11:1-4, one of the disciples asks Jesus, "How should we pray?" Jesus responds with what we know as "The Lord's Prayer," but have you ever explored the two parables He shares immediately after? In these parables, Jesus illustrates what it means to pray boldly (vv. 5-13). The first story involves a man who goes to his friend's house at midnight to request three loaves of bread (v. 7). Who does that? One might think this person needs a new friend! As the story unfolds, we see that the friend is reluctant to give him the bread, yet he eventually does. Jesus points out that the friend doesn't give it out of mere friendship but because of his friend's "shameless audacity" (v. 8). Jesus is showing us to go with great urgency and boldness to God with any requests we might have like the friend who is at the door at midnight.
In the next part of the parable, Jesus emphasizes three actions in our prayer life: "Ask, knock, seek." These words evoke a sense of persistent pursuit; we need to be tenacious in our requests, much like a child on a road trip who repeatedly asks, "Are we there yet?" This reflects our prayer life; we must come to Him over and over again, fervently presenting our petitions to the Lord (Luke 18:1). Let's not ignore the following two popular verses (vv. 9-10), where the first part reads, "Ask, and it will be given to you." I don't want you to think that God is a genie in a bottle ready to give us whatever we ask for. That would be a misinterpretation because God will answer our prayers according to His good and perfect will; therefore, if we pursue God's heart in the matter, God will be at work. In the last parable, Jesus teaches us that we have a God who delights in giving good things to His children. It reminds us to ask with faith and exception because He loves to provide generously for those who love and obey Him (verses 11-13).
One of my passionate pursuits to the throne room lasted for 14 years, and it's a good example of boldly going before the Lord. I felt that my husband wasn't being appropriately compensated for his job, and I knew that if he sought employment elsewhere, his paychecks would improve, which would bless our single-income family of five. These 14 years were sometimes tight financially, and we learned reliance on God as each need came to the surface. He was always faithful. I persistently brought our situation to God, and after our children were grown, my husband got a new job that came with abundant blessings beyond what I could have imagined. My actions for over a decade were characterized by shameless persistence, urgency, boldness, asking for His will to be done, and an unwavering faith that an answer would come.
God is waiting to hear your prayers; go boldly to His throne of grace because He is there in our time of need.
