PRAYING BEFORE THE THRONE
HEBREWS 4:16
I want to read to you a quote from C.S. Lewis from his book “God in the Dock”. I have used this quote before but it is worth repeating. “Praying for particular things,” said I, “always seems to me like advising God how to run the world. Wouldn’t it be wiser to assume that He knows best?” “on the same principle,” said he, “I suppose you never ask a man next to you to pass the salt, because God knows best whether you ought to have salt or not. And I suppose you never take an umbrella, because God knows best whether you ought to be wet or dry.” “That’s quite different,” I protested. “I don’t see why,” said he. “The odd thing is that He should let us influence the course of events at all. But since He lets us do it in one way, I don’t see why He shouldn’t let us do it in the other.”
That certainly is something worth thinking about. Prayer is an amazing thing. As I stated last week,
“Prayer moves the arm of the one who moves the world”. Prayer for us should be just as important to us as food and drink. We must be a people of God who pray, we must be a church that prays. If not we will wither and be ineffective in our desire to see people won to Jesus Christ, ineffective in our desire to minister to people. We must pray.
We are continuing today in our series on prayer. As you have notice we have been looking at prayer for all kinds of different angles through different verses.
I like to think of the Bible as kind of like jewelry. Perhaps like a gold ring. Like a ring the whole of the Bible is valuable, every word, every letter, is of value. But within the gold ring we find the jewels, those gems that make the ring even more valuable. While the Bible is of great value there are throughout the Word of God, gems, jewels which touch our hearts. Passages which to us personally may hold more value then the surrounding passages. Today I want to talk about one of those gems. A gem surrounded by gold.
Please turn with me to our passage this morning. Heb. 4:16. That is going to be page 1037 in your pew Bibles. Heb. 4:16 happens to be one of my favorite jewels in the Bible. If fact we are going to be spending two weeks in this verse; “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
This my friends is what true prayer is. Prayer is approaching the throne of God through the Holy Spirit of God. It is not the mere utterance of words, it is not the mere confession of our needs, but it is approaching the throne of God with purpose of communing with God, with the creator of all things.
We must understand that such prayer is the work of the Holy Spirit in us. Without the Spirit dwelling in us we cannot approach the throne in prayer. Without the Spirit of God our prayers are empty and hollow, they are meaningless, and vile before the Father. For true prayer to be present we must be filled with the Holy Spirit of God, if not our words are just that, words, nothing more.
Moreover if you look at the two verses prior to Heb. 4:16 you will find that not only can we not have true prayer without the Holy Spirit, but our prayers will not prevail without the Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ.
Verse 14-15; “Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.”
Through the great High priest the veil between us and the Father as been removed, so now we can “boldly” go stand before the throne of grace on mercy. Not on our own merit but through the merit of our Saviour, “who was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.”
The one who believes that he can come to God without the Holy Spirit, without the mediator Jesus Christ, insults God. Because God has deemed it must be done His way, and no other way will do. To go before the throne of grace and mercy without being sprinkled with the blood of the Lamb of God, is to go before God as an unacceptable sacrifice, and unclean sacrifice. To go to the throne of God without the cleansing blood of Christ is to bring a sacrifice to God which He cannot accept.
So before we talk about coming to the throne of grace and mercy we must first off all understand that we approach that throne through our High Priest Jesus Christ and through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit.
With that said let look at our verse this morning. I want to begin today by looking at the fact that we are to approach the throne of God. Next week we well look at the type of throne that it is, one of grace and mercy.
Let us first look at the fact that our passage speaks of the throne of grace and mercy. When we go to prayer we ought to view God as our Father. Because for most of us that is the aspect which is dearest to us. However in calling God our Father we ought to suppose that He is the same as we are. We all are familiar with the words of our Saviour when He states pray like this, “Our Father”. But we notice that Jesus qualifies that statement by saying, “who are in heaven”. To stress that fact that our heavenly Father is infinitely greater then we are, Jesus continues by saying, “hallowed be thy name”.
Through this we must understand that while we come to our heavenly Father in prayer, we are also coming to the feet of a King, we come not only to our Father but we come to the Great Monarch of the universe. We must keep in mind that that mercy seat is throne, and the one who sits upon that throne is worthy of all glory and honor and praise.
The very concept of a throne denotes royalty. As we pray we should not lose sight of the fact that through pray we are entering into the courts of the royalty of heaven.
When we come to the throne in prayer we must come with all humility. Pride as no place before the King of heaven.
What does 1 Peter 5:6 tell us; “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time,” Again in James 4:10; “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.”
In the days when kings and queen ruled the lands one would never think to approach them with arrogance and pride. One would approach them with head bowed. Yet these were men and women. Men and women whose rule was given or taken away by the will of God.
If such respect was to be given earthly kings, how much more ought to be given to the highest of all monarchs, one who is the King of kings, and Lord of lords.
As we approach our King let us be reminded that He is the great King, the most powerful of all Kings. Listen to the words of Spurgeon, “His throne hath sway in all worlds, heaven obeys Him cheerfully, hell trembles at His frown, and earth is constrained to yield Him homage willingly or unwillingly.”
This is the throne which we are called to come before. In Matthew 10 the Lord Jesus states, "And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” The one who can destroy both soul and body, that is the one whose throne we stand before in prayer, therefore let us go to that throne in all humility. Let us worship at the throne with the lowly reverence for our King.
While the throne of God should be a familiar throne to us, it must remain hallowed. Boldness should be there yes, but not presumption. Let us keep in mind that we are on earth and our King is in heaven. That He is creator of all things, that He is God over all. That He is altogether perfect and Holy and we are not. And while we have been invited to approach His throne, it must be approached in the right frame of mind, with all humility.
I believe that there are those who approach the throne of God flippantly. Thinking they stand before some sort of cosmic vending machine, or they treat God like He is some buddy that lives out of town. Let that never be said of us, everyone of prayers MUST be brought reverently to the throne of the one who sits in eternal Majesty!
While the throne of God must be approached with the utmost humility, it also is to be approached with the utmost joy. Say you were to receive an invitation to go the White House and meet with President Bush. That would bring joy to most of us, we would consider it an honor.
Let us realize that we have been called by the King of king to enter into His presence, to come before His throne. That my friends should bring us great joy. The King of kings had every right to throw me in His prison, but instead He calls me to stand before His throne. I might have been driven from His presence forever, but through Christ I am permitted to come near to Him, even to enter His royal palace. To stand before His throne that I might commune with Him. Should that not bring me joy untold.
Should I not feel great honor that the King of kings has called me to enter into His presence. Should I not feel great joy in knowing that I come before the throne where the greatest and mightiest blessing flow from. Should I not feel great joy knowing that I am called to the throne of grace and mercy, mercy which saved a sinner such as I, and grace that sustains me, give me hope, and blesses me.
Let every heart here be filled with joy at the thought that we have been commanded to “come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
If your sorrows and burdens are heavy go to the throne, go to the one who sits on that throne and He will take them. If your sins are multiplied, confess them before the throne, and He will forgive them. Go to the throne with joy knowing that the Heavenly Father wants you there, that the King has called you there.
So we must approach the throne with complete humility, with complete joy, and we must also come to the throne with complete submission. We must not pray to God in order to instruct Him one what He ought and ought not do.
We must never presume that we know what is better for us then does God, the omnipotent One.
We may go to God and pray Lord I would like such and such, but may we add, “But Lord I am human, and my ways are not your ways, therefore Father, not as I will, but as Thou will, let your will be done.”
We shall not dictate to the throne. To tell God what to do is to try to unseat Him from His rightful place on the throne as King. When we pray before the throne may it be in total submission to the will of God, whatever that will may be. Let us go pleading to God, earnestly petitioning God with our requests, but may all our prayers end, “Not my will, but yours oh King.”
Fourthly, let us go to the throne of grace and mercy with enlarged expectations. We do not simply come to God as poor beggars looking for hand outs. We do not come to the back door of His house looking for table scraps, though that would be more then we deserve. Even the crumbs that fall from our Master’s table would be more then we could lay claim to. When we pray we are standing in the palace of the King. When we pray we are standing in the receiving room of the great King. When we pray we are on Holy ground. In prayer we stand where angels bow. We stand where the cherubim and seraphim proclaim the glory of God.
Shall we come with stunted requests when we enter into such a place? The King will give what He has, and has no junk. He will not give away pennies to the poor, but gold. He will not give scraps but prime rib.
That is the character of the King of kings. That is the character of the king whom those who are in Christ serve.
There was once soldier of Alexander the Great who did an act of bravery which was witnessed before the King. Alexander that great commanded that he be given whatever he wanted. He went to the royal treasurer and asked for such a great amount, that the treasurer refused, saying his act was not worth that much. It was brought to Alexander’s attention. When he heard it he stated, “He knows how great Alexander is, and he has asked as from a king; let him have what he requests”.
Let us realize how great our King is, and ask accordingly. Realizing that God’s ways are not our ways, neither are His thoughts our thoughts. Our King is the King of all Kings, ruler of the universe, owner of all we can see. And all things are under His authority.
While our prayer ought to be tempered with “Not my will but thine”, let us also realize as Eph. 3:20 states; that we pray to “Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us,”
Let us not pray “small” as we pray to Him who has all authority. Let us pray with enlarged expectations.
In the fifth place let us approach this throne with unwavering confidence. Shall we doubt that King? Shall we doubt His word, His promises? The King of glory will keep every promise, it is against His very nature not to do so.
May we not approach the throne of the King of heaven and earth, with unbelief in our hearts. 2 Cor. 1:20; “For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us.” Also Titus 1:2 “in hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began,”
Our Kings word is trustworthy, because we approach a King who cannot lie.
Finally, let us approach the throne of grace and mercy with the deepest sincerity. Let us not mock our God with prayers that are not from the heart.
This insincerity of heart was what Jesus was speaking of when He stated in Matt 6:7; “And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words.”
May the words of prays be not only the words of our lips but of our hearts. Sincere words, words that come from our soul.
When we are called to pray in public may we dare not use words that are intended to please the ears of men, but may we realize that we speaking to God Himself.
When we have our own personal devotions, calling upon God in private may they not be filled with repetitious words, or words that have no thought in them. Do not think the King of heaven delights in insincere prayer. May all our prayer be prayed with the deepest sincerity.
In conclusion may I say this, prayer is no trifle matter. Pray is a Holy and elevated act. It is an honor and a privilege to be called by the King of kings to come to His throne to pray. Let us treat that way.
Throughout history when a commoner was called to come into the presence of the king it was thought to be one of the highest privilege that could be given.
Folks we have that privilege. As the children of God we have the call to come before the throne of God at any time. We are encouraged to come boldly, but let us remember that it is no small thing to pray. Let us come in the spirit of Psa. 95 & 96; “Oh come, let us worship and bow down; Let us kneel before the LORD our Maker. For He is our God, And we are the people of His pasture,... Oh, worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness! Tremble before Him, all the earth.”
I would just like to add to those of your who have never trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ as Saviour, this verse is calling to you as well. Come boldly to the throne of grace and mercy. Come and receive the grace that will save you from your sin through the blood of Jesus Christ. Come experience that mercy of God that is receive through faith in Christ as Lord and Saviour. I pray that you will receive Him today. I pray that today would be the day you stand before the throne washed in the blood of the lamb. Shall we pray.
