Day 17 of Prayer
When I first got saved I was told that I should pray every day because it is one of the strongest weapons as believers we walk in this life. In the beginning it was exciting to me, but I started looking at it with the wrong perspective. Instead of coming before Him out of reverence and love I started coming before Him because it seemed like a chore and with the wrong heart. On days I didn’t feel like doing it I wouldn’t. On days when I felt not good enough to come before Him I wouldn’t do it either. I would try to get myself together first so that I could come before His presence and in my own eyes I could be counted as worthy enough. All of this changed when I learned about my identity and righteousness in Christ.
In Ephesians 3:12 Paul writes “In Him and through faith in Him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.” Friends, we can be sure of this, that in Christ we have the freedom to talk to the Father at any time we want. Notice that it doesn’t say through faith in Christ and if you do something good. We can take confidence that by Christ dying on the cross and resurrecting He hasn’t only paid for our sins but has made a way to the Father. Now, no matter what we’ve done or what we’ll do, we can talk to God at any time of the day or night we choose to. He is always having an ear open to us waiting to hear our voices. I’ve found that some of my most intimate moments with my Savior have been when I come wholeheartedly before Him.
Paul wrote in Philippians 4:6-7 “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your mind in Christ Jesus.” I’ll put this in food reference, because I love food. God doesn’t want us to come before Him and only bring him a slice of cake, He wants for us to bring Him the whole cake. Whatever kind of cake it may be. The moment that we lay all of our lives and requests before Him, don’t miss this, the peace that SURPASSES all understanding will guard our hearts and minds. The peace that it’s talking about in this passage is a peace that can only come from Him. Don’t be scared that it’s gonna be too much or too big for God to take, because it won’t.
Friends, be encouraged today that in Christ we are children of the Most High and because of that we have the freedom to approach the throne of God and His grace at any given moment and He will lovingly hear us.
“In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly.” Psalms 5:3
Written by Juan Coppiano