A while back I read an article[1] about
“letters to God” that had washed up on the beach. About 300 people had written letters to a
local minister, asking him to pray to God on their behalf. Apparently the minister
had died, and the person who came to clean out his apartment found a garbage
bag full of unopened letters containing
numerous prayer requests. Many of the
letters had a somber tone, asking God to forgive them for sins they committed,
or for such things as interceding for relatives that were abusing drugs. Apparently
when the person cleaning up the apartment found the letters, he did not want to
throw them away in the trash, so he threw them in the ocean, kind of a message
in a bottle idea. The tone of the original article was one of sad irony. People
wrote a minister asking him to pray to God for them. The minister never read
the letters, died and the prayer requests went not before God, but in the
ocean.
While there is much value in asking others to
intercede on our behalf, the good news is that, because of what Jesus did on
the cross, we can go directly to God ourselves. “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
4:16) Jesus paid for our sins on the
cross and we were washed clean, standing before God without stain or
blemish. Believers can come confidently before
God in prayer, knowing that He hears them.
God lavishes mercy and grace on those who ask for it. We can come to God when we sin, find
restoration, and also receive the power and strength to overcome sins hold on
our lives.
Another great New Testament truth is that Jesus is
praying for us! Romans 8:34 declares “It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also
risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for
us.” Jesus died for us, has risen from
the dead, and now is in heaven at the right hand of the Father, praying for you
and me. Many people think it would be
great to have a godly man like Billy Graham praying for us. The fact is that
Jesus is praying for us. What an amazing and inspiring truth, God is praying
for us!
Whatever your request
is, whatever you have to confess, whatever need arises, you can come directly
before God with your request, not only does He hear you, He is praying for you!
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