Day 16—Pray With Confidence
“Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” (Hebrews 4:14–16, NIV84)
Most of us have at some time in our lives handed a credit card to a grocery cashier or a restaurant server when you were not absolutely one hundred percent sure that the card was going to work. Maybe you hadn’t yet made a payment that was due; or maybe you weren’t sure you had enough money in the account to cover it; or maybe you’d exceeded your credit limit.
This is similar to what many of us experience when we pray. We really need this prayer “transaction” to go through, but we aren’t really confident that we will be approved. We don’t feel like we’ve really “made the payment” for our past sins and failures; or maybe we’re not sure we’ve made enough deposits of obedience and good deeds; or maybe we’re afraid that the response you need from God exceeds the limits of what you deserve. You are far from confident that God will hear and answer your prayer.
God doesn’t want you to feel like that when you pray. He wants you to feel like you feel when you hand a card to a cashier with absolute confidence that your balance is sufficient, your payments are up to date, and you have plenty of room on the card.
But it’s not because YOU paid your bill, or deposited a sufficient amount into your account. It’s because of what JESUS did on your behalf.
Jesus walked in this earth and faced every test that you have faced. He understands your struggles. He also paid every debt and satisfied every demand of justice when he died on the cross and rose again. And then he went to heaven, where he is even today representing you as a high priest and as an advocate, recommending to heaven that your requests be granted.
That’s why we can bring our needs to the throne with confidence. There we will receive mercy—forgiveness of our sins and debts. And we will find grace—Jesus doing for us what we we can’t do, and what we don’t deserve to have done. And we will receive help in our time of need.
Come today. Come with confidence. You will be received, you will be heard, your prayer will be answered.
