Lord, Teach Us To Pray! Part 74

Answered Prayers continued...

When we pray to God the Father in the name of Jesus, we do so with the full awareness of all that Jesus is. We pray in Jesus’ name, knowing that every knee should bow, of those in heaven, of those on earth, and of those under the earth before Him. We pray in Jesus’ name knowing that every tongue should confess that He is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. We pray in Jesus’ name knowing that He humbled Himself, and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.

We pray in Jesus’ name, knowing the fullness of who Jesus is, receiving all that He is, and worshipping all that He is.

We do not go before God based on what we are as individuals, or what we’ve done as individuals. We do not come before God on the basis of our own merits, because we have no merits to speak of. By faith however, we come before God in the name of Jesus, praying in the name of Jesus, the selfsame Jesus who bought us with the price of His blood, who reconciled us unto the Father through His sacrifice, and who is even now our mediator, our great High Priest before God.

Hebrews 10:19-22, “Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, and having a High Priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.”

We have the boldness to enter the Holiest because of Jesus, because of His blood, and the new and living way which He consecrated for us. There is nothing in the universe that could replace the blood of Jesus. If there were, God would have spared His Son, even if it would have meant the blood of all the bulls, and doves, and rams in the world.

Jesus paid the price, and consecrated the way for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, because there was no other way for this to occur.

This is largely the reason I get vociferously defensive when it comes to doctrines which aim to minimize the sacrifice of Jesus, or make it seem as though it wasn’t really necessary.

There was no other way for man to be reconciled unto God, than through the sacrifice and blood of Christ Jesus!

There is a depth to the aforementioned passage that we must explore in order to understand the fullness of what it is stating.

The first thing we must understand is that these three verses were intended for believers, exclusively. The author of Hebrews is writing to the brethren, encouraging them to have boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, and draw near to God with a true heart, and in full assurance of faith.

The tabernacle of meeting in the midst of Israel’s camp was divided into three areas. First, was the outer court, second, was the inner court, and third, was the holy of holies, or as the author of Hebrews refers to it, the Holiest.

It was only in the holy of holies, or the Holiest, where God’s presence would descend, and where only the high priest could enter once a year with the price of the blood sacrifices that had been brought.

In the New Covenant, where the true tabernacle of meeting resides, God calls us to enter into the Holiest, as the veil was rent by Christ Jesus, when He brought Himself as sacrifice for our sins. His blood opens the way for us - a new and living way, into the Holiest.

We cannot remain in the outer court or even in the inner court, but with boldness we must enter in, for that is where we have been called to fellowship with God.

It is the blood of Christ, and nothing else that opened this new and living way for us. It was not our accomplishments, our net worth, our social standing, or our lineage. There is nothing that we are in and of ourselves, with which we can stand before God and boast, or by which we can enter into the Holiest. Only through Christ and His shed blood can we enter in, and have true fellowship with Him who is eternal, God the Father, Creator of all.

We pray in Jesus’ name, because it is Jesus who opened the way through His obedience, His humility, His suffering, His death, and His resurrection.

Let us draw near! Let us not stand afar, let us not be fearful of drawing near due to burdens we might still be carrying, but having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith.

Jesus is our High Priest. He is the High Priest over the house of God, and He paid the price that we might enter in.

In the olden days, during the time of the Old Covenant, only the high priest could enter in to the presence of God. In essence, the high priest of the time was the mediator between God and man. Now, we as believers, as children of God, as those saved and sanctified, can come before the throne of grace, without the mediation of men, but directly. We have been given entrance through the blood of Christ Jesus, and what was once allowed of one person, once per year, is now allowed of us all when we come before God with true hearts, with full assurance of faith, with hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and with bodies washed with pure water.

With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.