I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy, and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13 (NLT)
Prayer is everything. Need hope? Pray. Need direction? Pray. Need forgiveness? Pray. Need more of Jesus? Pray.
Did you know for those who have Jesus as Lord in his/her life, complete access to the throne room of God is available, with the door never being closed nor blocked? We are assured of this in Hebrews 4:16 –
So let us come boldly to the throne room of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most. (NLT)
It is here we can commune with God, face-to-face, so to speak. We can be silent or we can spill our guts. We can fall down in worship or we can be still and know. The bottom line is, we can be in the very presence of God, the Almighty. We will not be pushed away, dismissed, ignored, nor shamed.
In His presence we receive His mercy and find grace. There are times when these two gifts of God are exactly what we need. Mercy – God’s lovingkindness, His compassion and faithful love for us. It’s ready and available. Perfect size, perfect amount. Perfect.
We also find grace. Isn’t this an interesting way to put it? Find grace. It relays the idea we lost grace, ran out, need more or we’ve been looking and it led us to the throne room. Grace – it is by grace we have faith (Ephesians 2:8), and it is by grace we have …
Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. John 1:16-17 (NLT)
Then we have Paul’s writings in Romans with the assurance of what else is available and given to us. Joy and peace. Lacking joy? Needing peace? These are given in abundance. Such a powerful promise of what is ours when we are in Christ Jesus.
In pondering these thoughts this week, I had an epiphany. I pray. I spend a lot of time in the throne room – my favorite room of God. I pour out my heart, I weep, I worship, I sit. But, a thought popped into my head. What do I do with belief? Do I go into the throne room of God with belief in my heart and (more importantly, in my opinion) do I leave with it?
There's the rub.
I am so confident when in the presence of God. I know who I am, I know the love of God, I feel accepted, I have confident hope. And it is awesome.
It’s what I do afterwards or in the in-between times which need attention. Jesus addressed faith and belief His entire time on earth. He called it out, He encouraged others who had it as well as told people it was because of their belief or faith they were healed.
Faith is important and in fact it is created by the very hand of Jesus – He is the author of our faith (Hebrews 12:2). He is penning it currently and in real time. He is pouring it out, will we accept it? Will we hold onto it? And walk in it?
This is the action step required to live an abundant life. To believe. And not doubt because when we doubt we are like the roaring seas being blown and tossed by any wind which comes our way (James 1:6). The winds of adversity are real and hurtful. The winds of change can be painful. The winds of shame are beyond.
BELIEF IN ACTION
George Mueller was a devout man of God in the nineteenth century. He was a man who walked confidently in faith God heard, would provide, lead, and care for all. There’s a story which tells of him crossing off the coast of Newfoundland. The fogs were thick, making any passing impossible and the captain of the ship would not go on. Mueller asked the captain to pray with him because he needed to be in Quebec that afternoon. The captain was reluctant and doubtful. Mueller’s response: “I have not broken an engagement for 57 years. So if your ship can’t take me, God will find other means to take me.”
The captain did agree to pray, but still believed Mueller to be crazy, as he himself could see the pea-soup fog and he knew the very real dangers of fog upon the waters. “Mr. Mueller, do you know how thick the fog is?” “No,” Mueller replied, “My eyes are not upon the fog but upon the living God who controls every circumstance of life.”
Upon praying rising from a simple prayer of faith, Mueller stood to his feet to see the fog lifting.
Do you have faith which would move mountains or fog? Do you operate in steadfast belief God is in control? Do you have confident hope, joy and peace? It is available in abundance. Why not ask and believe it is yours?