The Cross = access to God!

Paul concludes this section on the mystery of the gospel and his work among the Ephesians as a teacher and preacher with a revelation about the unique freedom they now have in Christ. Ephesians 3:12 “Because of Christ and our faith in him, we can now come boldly and confidently into God’s presence.^”³So please don’t lose heart because of my trials here. I am suffering for you, so you should feel honored.” Paul wanted them to focus on the position available to them because of their faith in Christ and not to feel sorry for him as he writes to them from prison in Rome. He felt it was a privilege to suffer in the name of Christ, not a burden.

So what is this unique freedom we now have as believers in Christ? Paul says we now have the ability to come boldly and confidently into God’s presence. This is a unique status given only to believers. Because Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead, we have access to the God the Father in prayer. We do not need to go to or though anyone to have our requests made known to God. In the past, the Israelites had to go through their High Priest to present their needs to the Lord. Now, each person can approach the throne of God in prayer and lay your heart’s desires, needs, hopes and dreams before the Lord. The Lord Jesus is now our High Priest and presents our prayers to the Father. When we struggle for words or thoughts, Jesus intercedes for us and knows exactly what we are thinking or feeling. Hebrews 8:1b “we have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven,”

Here are a few verses that talk about this unique privilege of prayer:

Hebrews 4:16 “Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

1 John 5:14: ^“This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.”

Pray with confidence today, God hears your prayers. Pray to stay in God’s will and He will give you the grace and mercy you need. God is faithful and keeps His promises. I love Hebrews 10:23 “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.” God is 100% faithful and will hear our prayers. His ways are not our ways, so we need trust Him and not seek to demand our own way or try to tell God what to do. I am always amazed at God’s answers to my prayers as He often answers in ways I could never have imagined. Pray in faith, knowing He absolutely hears you and let God take care of the details! Thank you Jesus for interceding for me as I approach the Father in prayer.