"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. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need." - Hebrews 4:14-16
The Bible encourages, even urges us to come boldly to the throne of grace, most especially for mercy and grace that we will need in trying times. Many of us know that we should do that, but many of us don't because we either don't know how, or perhaps just feel like we cannot do that even if we wanted to.
Whenever we refuse to come boldly before the throne, we deprive ourselves of our own needs. We deprive ourselves of the privileges that were already purchased for us. We deny ourselves the joy of coming to our own Father who loves us, waits for us to come, and longs to bless us with all the heavenly blessings in Christ (see Ephesians 1:3).
Do you want to be able to come to the throne of grace boldly? Here are some tips, according to the very passage where the invitation and command is given.
1) Let's realize our grave need for God's grace through Christ
First, we need to realize our need for God's grace. We need God's grace for every single thing in this life. The Lord Jesus Christ Himself said,
"I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing." (John 15:5)
We are nothing without God. We will never be able to live the life God wants for us in our own flesh. We need to realize that without Christ, we can't do anything. This desperate need for God's help should motivate us to come to Him.
2) Acknowledge what Christ has done for us
Second, we must recognize and acknowledge what Christ did for us:
"Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all." (Isaiah 53:4-6)
Christ took our place on the cross and became our High Priest who understands us and intercedes for us (see Hebrews 7:25). He paid the penalty for our sins so that we could be forgiven and accepted by God.
Because of Christ, we can now come freely to God anytime, anywhere. One way we honor Christ's finished work is by enjoying its privileges - one of which is the ability to come to God without reservation or shame.
3) Ask, knowing that through Christ we will receive
Lastly, we must remember that if we want to ask God for something, we should have faith. Jesus told us in Matthew 21:22,
"And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive."
When we pray, we ought to pray in faith. Hebrews 11:1 tells us that faith "is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." We don't see it manifest in the natural yet, but because of Christ we are assured that what we ask according to God's will is already ours.
