“Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.”
(Hebrews 4:16)
The saints of God are needy people. And no one knows better than God Himself just how needy we are. In fact, Scripture compares us to sheep who must depend on their shepherd for everything from food to protection.
In what is commonly known as “The Lord’s Prayer” recorded in Matthew 6:9-13, Jesus teaches us how to pray. What’s interesting about this short model prayer is that a full half of it is concerned with asking God for what we need from Him every day:
- Give us this day our daily bread. Most of us can be grateful that we have our daily physical needs met in abundance. So does this aspect of Jesus’ prayer still relate to us?
It certainly does! No matter how “set” we may believe ourselves to be regarding physical necessities, God wants us to never forget that He is the One supplying our physical needs. He is the One who gives… and the One who takes away (Acts 17:25, Job 1:21). We see this often in the case of natural disasters when stories emerge of individuals and families with beautiful homes and comfortable lifestyles who overnight found themselves destitute with nothing but the clothes on their back.
The reason Jesus taught us to pray for our “daily bread” is so that we remember, with humble and grateful hearts, that God is the source of everything we need and have.
- Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. In this context Jesus reminds us that we need daily cleansing for those sins that accumulate on the roster of our debt (duty and obligation) toward others—and ultimately against our account before God. This includes those sins we are most aware of as well as those that only God Himself knows about (Ps. 19:12).
Only God can truly forgive our sins (Luke 5:21). But He attaches a caveat. Buried here in this brief sentence about forgiving our sin debt is a contingency—”as we forgive others.” Jesus warns us that God will not forgive us for our wrongs against Him if we are not first willing to forgive those who have wronged us. (In fact, in the two verses immediately following the Lord’s Prayer—verses 14 and 15—Jesus stresses this in detail!)
- And do not lead us into temptation but deliver us from evil. Here Jesus reminds us that we need His strength to win the battle against temptation and evil daily.
And we gain this strength directly from Him, by nourishing our “inner man” with His Word seasoned with prayer (Eph. 3:14-16).
As much as God cares about our physical needs (and He does), our spiritual needs are of utmost concern to Him. 2 Timothy 1:9 explains why: “[He] has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity.”
To better respond to His “holy calling,” do you need spiritual wisdom for life’s decisions? Ask God for it (James 1:5). Do you need spiritual strength to resist temptation? Ask God for it (Eph. 3:14-16). Do you need grace for living? Ask God for it (Heb. 4:16). He is our source, so come boldly before His throne and ask.
Thomas Manton said, “We always need to be delivered from evil; we always need to be established in good. Sometimes we need a blessing on what we have, that our comforts may be sanctified to us; sometimes a blessing on what we do, that we may begin it and end it in God. All our relations increase our necessities, so do all our enjoyments; new mercies occasion new necessities; and in the variety of our afflictions we have still somewhat to do with God. The receipt of one mercy discovers the need of another.”[1]
We are indeed needy. But thank God—He is our Source!
Contemplations:
- The Throne of Grace. God has opened the way for His children to come boldly before Him. Through Christ, we may approach the throne of grace with confidence, knowing that mercy and help are found there.
- God’s Provision for Every Need. The Lord supplies not only our physical needs but also our spiritual ones. He feeds both body and soul. Every breath I take, every meal I eat, every moment of grace I experience—is all from Him. But how often do I stop to recognize His daily provision? Do I thank Him for His faithfulness, or do I take His blessings for granted?
- Forgiveness Freely Given, Yet Required. God freely forgives those who come to Him in repentance, yet He commands His people to forgive others in return. Unforgiveness hinders our prayers and grieves the Spirit of God. Is my own unwillingness to forgive preventing me from fully experiencing the mercy of my heavenly Father?
- Deliverance from Evil. Every day I face temptation. My heart is prone to wander, and the enemy seeks to devour. Yet Christ has taught me to pray for deliverance, to seek His strength in the battle against sin. Lord, help me rely on You to keep me from temptation, knowing I have access to Your power to resist whatever evil comes my way through Your Holy Spirit who lives in me.
Prayer:
O gracious and merciful Father, I come before Your throne with boldness, not in my own merit, but in the righteousness of Christ. You have commanded me to ask, to seek, to knock. And so I come, believing Your promise that those who ask shall receive, those who seek shall find, and those who knock shall have the door opened to them. Because You alone are my source and my sufficiency. Without You, I have nothing.
O Lord, I confess my great need before You. My heart is often anxious about earthly concerns, forgetting that every provision comes from Your hand. I often look to the world to sustain me instead of to You, the Giver of every good and perfect gift. Forgive my forgetfulness, my faithlessness, and my foolish self-sufficiency. Teach me to rely on You, to remember that my daily bread is a gift from You and not a result of my own labor.
I thank You, my God, that You have not left me to myself. You are not distant, nor are You indifferent to my needs. You are my Shepherd, my Provider, my Keeper. You supply all that I lack, and Your grace is sufficient for every trial. How kind You are to command me to ask, that I might learn to depend upon You more!
O Lord, I ask that You strengthen me in the battle against sin. Lead me not into temptation, but deliver me from evil. Keep me from pride, from selfishness, and from the subtle deceitfulness of my own heart. Let me not be wise in my own eyes, but cause me to walk humbly before You, seeking Your wisdom, Your guidance, and Your will in all things.
I ask, too, for a heart that forgives, as I have been forgiven. Let no root of bitterness take hold in me. As You have cast my sins into the depths of the sea, let me not hold onto the offenses of others but rather extend the grace that I have received.
Lord, let my life reflect my dependence upon You. Let my prayers be filled with faith, my heart overflow with thanksgiving, and my days be marked by obedience to Your will. You alone are my source and my salvation. I come boldly before You, for You have called me to do so, and I trust in Your goodness to give me all that I need.
In the name of my great High Priest, Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen.
Further References for Hebrews 4:16
Eph. 3:12; Heb. 10:19; Exod. 25:17; Heb. 3:6; Isa. 55:6; Matt. 7:7.
[1] Thomas Manton, A Practical Exposition of the Lord’s-Prayer (London: J.D. and are to be sold by Jonathan Robinson .., 1684), 478.
