I don’t know, maybe it just happens to be Good Friday, but today seems… good. I’m on a roll. Worked out, done with my word quota, but I’m still wanting to talk. Rather, I still want to write.
See, I don’t feel it’s enough for us to talk about just one benefit of the privilege of prayer. Previously I talked about how we would do well to pray, to get into the secret place where we could be ourselves, opening up to God about anything and everything. Indeed, Christ paid a great price for us to be reconciled to God, much so that we could run boldly to His throne of grace in our time of need. ‘Need’ is what usually comes into our minds when we open up to God about anything and everything. And we run to the Father with not only our needs, but our wants and desires, being who we are with Him without any anxiety over saying the right thing and avoiding the wrong thing.
That’s right, that’s how I see it. It’s a total opposite to how I used to be with my late Dad. Oh, I could just imagine it now. Here I was, scared to tell Dad what was on my mind, because in my mind I thought he would explode at any moment. I only found out and internalized after he had passed, that’s how he was raised. When I spoke to my aunties and uncles, Dad’s brothers and sisters, you could tell that they all had a mind, heart, and mouth to speak whatever that was on their mind, and many (including myself) would assume that they were raising their voices out of anger… No, I realized too late that my Dad and his siblings were raised by such a passionate father of their own… My grandfather, who I unfortunately never met. He died 2 years before I was born.
Anyway I’m veering off track here. I say all that because for a while (and I’m pretty sure I mentioned this at an earlier post), even up until now actually, I still struggle with prayer. I still struggle with saying what I want to God, being who I am with Him. Indeed, it does take faith to believe that He not only hears us, but listens to us. I mean, really quick, let me share that after I posted my last article which was also about prayer, I stumbled upon a post from a Page I followed on Facebook which I thought was Christian parody but leans more towards humanism – It was a screenshot of someone’s tweet, saying ‘You’re telling me that you communicate telepathically with the Creator of the Universe, and I’m the scumbag for not believing you?’
It was almost to say that I was on the right track. Or at least that’s how I took it. Sure, from one perspective you can say that Jesus Christ died and rose again to give each and every one of us psychic powers to tap into realities beyond this one, to reach out to an omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent, infinite and eternal Creator. That sounds like it was pulled off of a bad superhero ripoff. But from where I see it, Christ died and rose again, so now anyone and everyone who just considers what He has done and lets in the possibility that God is who He says He is – anyone and everyone who believes can be assured that the omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent, infinite and eternal Creator listens to us.
Sure, today we celebrate Christ laying down His life, Christ giving Himself to us. But on the flip side we’re also celebrating that through this act of sacrifice, God was also giving us to Christ. The ministry of reconciliation has been so ingrained and integrated into us that it no longer matters if anyone mocks us for this Truth we’ve subscribed to.
Sorry, looks like I veered off even further there. My ultimate point here is that, we would do well in understanding that in prayer we lift up our reports of the finite to our Father. Consequently, in the secret place, our Father also reminds us of His promises, of Christ’s finished work, of our reconciliation. As we lift our hands and voices up to the Lord in the time we have with Him, whether by ourselves or with others in corporate prayer, God also bestows revelations and words of encouragement and assurance. By the power of the Holy Spirit we are convicted of righteousness, and it is absolutely apparent every time we intentionally lock the door behind us to spend time with Him. It’s not only about God hearing what we have to say… It’s also God sharing His heart to us, in every moment and circumstance – in those situations we are and are not aware of.
Part of me has been more active in intentionally seeking God today. Maybe that’s why I’m on a roll, and I’m thankful. It’s not like I’ve been feeling in the pink lately, after all. This message came to me at the right time, and it’s my heart that we are all reminded; And as I share, I learn this stuff twice. As I share, I present it for the world to see, and at the same time, my thoughts on the matter are no longer just in my mind, but recorded and more importantly, clarified.
Indeed, the veil has been torn. And indeed, this doesn’t just mean we can go freely into the Holy of Holies… but just as important, just as wonderful, the Holy of Holies comes freely to us. We don’t just have a line to heaven. We don’t just have God on speed dial. Not a Force, not some psychic ability. We have God talking to us, just as we talk to Him.
And we have Christ to thank for all of it.
Mercy came running
Like a prisoner set free
Past all my failures
To the point of my need
When the sin that I carried
Was all I could see
And when I could not reach mercy
Mercy came running to me
JB's Personal Brain Defragmenter 
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