Confidently Ask

Now this is the confidence we have before Him: Whenever we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. – (1 John 5:14, HCSB)

We can come to God with no doubts. This means that when we ask God for things (and those things agree with what God wants for us), God cares about what we say. – (1 John 5:14, ERV)

Since we have this confidence, we can also have great boldness before Him, for if we ask anything agreeable to His will, He will hear us. – (1 John 5:14, TPT)

Because of Jesus and His sacrifice that covers our sin, we can boldly come before God with our prayers and petitions. He sees and He hears and will move on our behalf when we ask things that are according to His will. His answers may look different than we would imagine, but He hears and provides an outcome that ultimately is for good. May we ever trust the Lord and seek Him with our every prayer, for He hears and cares when we come to Him with love as our motivation for all that we ask.

With great confidence,

Go to the Lord’s throne;

He hears what we ask,

As His grace is shown.

He tells us to ask,

For in love, He’ll hear;

Each faithful request,

As He remains near.

Near us with goodness,

Closeby with His grace;

With love, He surrounds,

Let us seek His face.

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You that we can be confident in the sacrifice of Your Son that covers us and provides the way for us to confidently and boldly come before You, and trust that You hear what we ask as our hearts align with Yours. Forgive us for the times that we have not asked, or have not trusted that You hear us when we do not see the answers we hope for or evidence that You are moving on our behalf. Show us how to trust in Your goodness and love, even when we do not see what we hope for. Lead us to love others as You love each of us. May many come into a lasting relationship with You. Be glorified O God, as we confidently seek You and trust in Your unfailing love to hear us and hold us. Amen.

© Shannon Elizabeth Grabrick and Revelations in Writing, May 2011 – present

For everyone who asks receives, and the one who searches finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. – Matthew 7:8

Bold Grace

So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive His mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most. – (Hebrews 4:16, NLT)

With Jesus as our high priest, we can feel free to come before God’s throne where there is grace. There we receive mercy and kindness to help us when we need it. – (Hebrews 4:16, ERV)

So let us step boldly to the throne of grace, where we can find mercy and grace to help when we need it most. – (Hebrews 4:16, VOICE)

 

Shame is a horribly heavy burden, especially when others have helped add weight to that which is constantly carried. Each time I have a conversation with someone who feels as if there is not a place for them to plug into a church, either because of their past or due to their current circumstances, my heart breaks a bit more. If we are truly loving God and loving people, shouldn’t we have open arms to all who choose to wander our way? Yes, there are precautions and wisdom that need be established for safety (we cannot be unwise) but we all have sinned and fallen short, so we are all equally eligible for the grace of God. His mercy and kindness are the very things that remove the burdens that we are not meant to bear. When we love people well, it often is the nudge needed for them to recognize that they are not beyond the reach of God’s mercy and grace. May we seek our Savior with open hearts and arms to receive His mercy and grace, so that we may in turn, go forth and extend the same to those around us.

 

Let us boldly go, 

To the throne of grace;

Where God in mercy,

Our shame shall erase.

The weight we carry,

In love, He removes;

As His help He brings,

And faithfulness proves.

Choose ever seek God,

Go straight to His throne;

Give as He gives us,

So His love’s made known.

 

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You that You loved us so much that You sent Your Son to bear the weight of all of our sin and shame. Thank You that because of Your sacrifice, we can come boldly before Your throne of grace to receive mercy and help whenever we need it. Forgive us for not extending the same mercy and grace to those around us that we have been given by You. Teach us to trust You more, so that we would love fearlessly and without basing our love on what has or has not been done by those around us. Show us how to love those around us as You do. May many come into a lasting relationship with You. Be glorified O God, as we come boldly to Your throne of grace to receive Your mercy and extend the same to others. Amen.

 

© Shannon Elizabeth Moreno and Revelations in Writing, May 2011 – present

 

For the Lord your God will bless you, …and your joy will be complete. – Deuteronomy 16:15