The Privilege of Access

THE PRIVILEGE OF ACCESS

Hebrews 4: 14-16

14Therefore, 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. 15For 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. 16Let 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.

Matthew 6:9-13

9"This, then, is how you should pray: " 'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, 10your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. 11Give us today our daily bread. 12Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.

            One day during the Civil War, a soldier sat on a bench outside the White House looking distressed. A little boy came by and asked him what was wrong. The soldier said he needed to see President Lincoln, but the guards wouldn’t let him in. Hearing this, the little boy took the soldier by the hand and led him past the guards directly into the President’s office. “Father,” he said, “this soldier really needs to speak with you.” That boy was the president’s son, who had a direct and continuous access to his father.

            This story perfectly illustrates one of the greatest privileges a believer in Christ possesses. He or she has a direct and continuous access to the presence of the most powerful person in the universe. And this has been made possible because of Jesus Christ, who is the only access to God.

            The idea of having access or a means of approaching is a familiar concept among the Jews. Since the Old Testament, they needed the priests in order to be their access. In the Temple where they can find the presence of God, they are only allowed up to the outer courtyard. The high priest was the only person who can draw himself to God once a year. And even he must properly prepare himself to stand before God because any unconfessed sin can cause him his own life. The effective work of Jesus Christ on the cross has satisfied the demands of the law so that today every believer has the privilege to approach God. This is the emphasis in the passage we have read in Hebrews – Jesus Christ is now our Great High Priest in heaven and we are able to confidently approach through our prayers the throne room of the Almighty God of the universe. 

Have you considered this awesome privilege? How many of you are really taking advantage of praying directly to God? To make sure that we don’t miss out, let’s learn together some of the basic stuff about prayer. It would be a shame if we remain ignorant about this. I believe this is the reason why Jesus himself had spent sometime teaching His disciples how to pray. Jesus wants all of us to utilize what He has provided for us. Here are three truths we need to take to heart:

I           THE BASIS:

            In the model prayer that Jesus gave the disciples in Matthew 6:9-13, he opened with these words, Our Father in heaven. These words immediately puts emphasis on the relationship that believers have gained after receiving Jesus Christ as their Savior. Remember the words of John:

John 1:12

2Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God

            Commonly, we define prayer as a communication with God. The truth is there is more to prayer than two persons communicating. It is a relational dialogue. We are coming to God who is our Father, and it is the bond of love that gives us the basis to go to Him.

            Somehow, this is also the reason why I believe we need to consider the Lord’s Prayer simply as a model prayer and not the prayer we have to constantly repeat. How many of you parents would like your children to approach you with repetitious words? That would be annoying. Besides, when you analyze the text, Jesus did not say, “This, then, is your prayer;” Instead, He said, “This, then, is how you should pray.”  Obviously, He was explicitly giving them a model where to base their prayers, not a prayer they need to recite.

            Also prior to this text, Jesus warned them concerning the repetitious prayers that pagans are doing:

Mathew 6:7-8

7And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

            The word babbling suggests speaking without thinking. God, our Father does not enjoy communing with us if we are only reciting words we don’t mean, or sometimes don’t feel. Prayer is our way to cultivate our relationship with Him.

            It is also unfortunate that there are people who feel that they still need to go through a priest or a saint whenever they pray. They illustrate this by using the example of talking to the President. They say you would not go directly to the President; you would go to your senator or congressman. Then, he or she would go to the president for you. Here’s the fact: I am not going to go through my senator or congressman if the President is my own Father. I know I can go directly to him. This is indeed a blessed privilege!

II         THE BARRIERS:

            Another important aspect in the model prayer can be found in the words, “hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” In here, we can see two possible barriers to an effective prayer experience:

            A. An Unholy Life – “Hallowed be your name”

            To hallow means to set apart as holy. For the Jews, names are usually descriptive of ones character. To hallow God’s name is equal to being respectful of the holy character of God. We cannot just draw ourselves to God without being sensitive of His holiness. Whenever we approach Him, we must see to it that we have confessed our sins and are maintaining an obedient relationship with our Father. Notice the following passages:

Psalm 66:18

 18 If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.

Isaiah 59:1-2

1 Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear.

 2 But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.

            We cannot expect God to answer our prayers if we are keeping some sins in our hearts. Perhaps, we also need to highlight that this covers both sins of commission and omission. The sin of commission happens when we do something that we are commanded not to do. For example, we shouldn’t be lying, but we lie anyway. And then, you have the sin of omission. You are guilty of this when you do not do what you are commanded to do.  Jesus Himself said these words regarding prayers:

Mark 11:25

25And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins."

            In other words, having an unforgiving heart will surely hinder us in receiving the answers to our prayers. The fact is: Satan will do his best to keep us in sins so that we don’t enjoy our advantage found in prayers. Don’t allow him to do that against you. Do your best by constantly examining you life and confessing every sin you can find in your heart.

            B. A Selfish Life – “your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven”

            Prayer is not primarily getting from God what we want to enjoy here on earth. Jesus expresses plainly that before we even pray about our own concerns, we must focus on the concerns of God on earth and in heaven. Why is that? Well, evidently, God’s kingdom concerns are far more important than our individual needs. For instance, The Bible says that the Lord does “not want anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). If you ask anything that will hinder the fulfilling of this will on earth, God will never grant your request. Or if you are asking something simply for personal consumption, your prayers won’t be heard. James talked about this truth:

James 4:3

3When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.

            How can we maintain an unselfish prayer life that guarantees powerful results? Jesus explained to the disciples in John 15:7 the secret regarding this kind of prayer life:

If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.

To remain is to lean upon Jesus moment by moment – to consistently commune with Him and submit to His will. If this is the kind of walk you have with Him, you will not dare ask anything that would not be pleasing to Him. And for sure, the Holy Spirit will guide you every time you pray that your prayers remain within the will of God. You see, the Holy Spirit can have a very special part in our prayers. Paul tells us that He can assist us in making the right prayer requests to God:

Romans 8:26-27

 26In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. 27And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will.

III        THE BUILDING BLOCKS:

            After knowing the basis and the barriers of prayers, we should also consider the building blocks or the basic elements of prayers. Often, we hear some Christians say, “I don’t know how to pray.” But, in reality, what they really mean is they don’t know how to pray the way they hear other older Christians pray with all their Christian jargons. The good news is we don’t need all those jargons. I believe God is listening more to our hearts, than to our words.

            Now, when you go the model prayer that Jesus gave, we can identify four simple elements that must be included every time we pray. They can easily be remembered through the acronym ACTS:

  • Adoration:

To adore is to exalt and praise God for who He is. This is where you acknowledge who He is to you like the words Our Father in heaven, hallowed by your name . . . your will be done on earth and in heaven. The Psalmist declares that God inhabits the praises of His people (Ps. 22:3). When we spend time praising God in our prayers, there will surely be a manifestation of His presence and power in our prayers.

  • Confession:

Since our unconfessed sins can hinder our prayers, we want to take the opportunity to confess our sins and receive His forgiveness.  He promises to cleanse and forgive us from all our sins when we confess them (1 John 1:9).

  • Thanksgiving:

In adoration we exalt God for who He is; while in thanksgiving, we exalt Him for everything He has done for us. Taking the time to identify our blessings can surely stimulate a greater faith that is necessary in our prayers.

  • Supplication:

This is the part where we bring our petitions not only for our own needs, but also for others.  When Jesus said, “Give us this day our daily bread,” He was literally talking about any need we have or anything that is causing us to be anxious in life. Paul absolutely believe in this truth:

Philippians 4:6-7

6Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

            As Christians, we have to believe that our great God is capable of giving us what we ask Him in our prayers. Those prayers could be for us or for the people we are praying for. Nothing is impossible with God. Therefore, everything can be possible through our prayers except for those outside God’s will. This is the reason why I love Jeremiah 33:3 - Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.' Time and again, God demonstrates his power through my prayers and gives me more than what I expect. I’m sure He can do the same for you. Keep taking advantage of your privilege of praying!