Growing Through Prayer (A 'Loving God Greatly' Bible Study)
January 12, 2016
Day 2
Read: Hebrews 4:15-16
SOAP: vs. 16
S: “Let us therefore draw near with boldness
to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy,
and may find grace for help in time of need.”
O&A: The word groups that stand out to me are:
draw near - in order to seek His grace and favor;
boldness - (opposite of ‘covered
with shame’), of the UNDOUBTING confidence of believers relative to their
fellowship with YHVH/God;
throne of grace – seat (throne) of kingly power – grace-> of kindness
by which YHVH bestows favors upon even the ill-deserving, and grants to sinners
the pardon of their offences, and bids them accept of eternal salvation through
Yeshua the Messiah;
receive mercy – experience (!)
kindness that is of YHVH towards sinners, especially the mercy and clemency of
YHVH in providing and offering salvation by Messiah Yeshua (which then turns to
readiness to help those in trouble);
find grace – to find for oneself: kindness by which YHVH bestows (meaning
is already defined above); and
help in
time of need – aid, seasonable, timely, opportune – so right time, right place.
For “find grace”, these verses in
Matthew 7:7-8 come to mind. “Ask, and it will be given
you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and it will be opened for you. For
everyone who asks receives. He who seeks finds. To him who knocks it will be
opened.” It’s the exact same word. This is not something that a parent can do
for their child, nor a pastor for their church – we are all responsible for our
relationship with Father YHVH/God; only I
can receive pardon for my sins, and
only I can answer for myself when I
stand before Him on the day of judgment… at which point won’t I be even more
happy to have accepted Yeshua as my Savior, because it is His blood that
will/does atone for my sins!
When I read “help in time of need”, it makes me
think of Matthew 7:21-23, when the Scriptures say, “Not
everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven;
but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will tell me in
that day, 'Adonai, Adonai, didn't we prophesy in your name, in your name cast
out demons, and in your name do many mighty works?' Then I will tell them, 'I
never knew you. Depart from me, you who work iniquity.'” If that’s not a time of need, or timely aid,
I don’t know what is!
I am so encouraged
by the defining of ‘boldness’! If the UNDOUBTING confidence of
believers relative to their fellowship with YHVH/God wasn’t splendid on its’
own, the definition of ‘opposite of
‘covered with shame’ puts a picture in my mind that is breath-taking to
me. I didn’t have a relationship with my
dad, not really. My parents divorced
when I was like 3 (I think), then the Army moved my mom, sister, and me from
Massachusetts (where my Dad lived) to California. From the time I was 5 years old to 20 years
of age, I saw my dad all of about 5 times.
We had good times when we visited, but there was always an underlying
current of something missing. I never
had the boldness with my dad that my step-sisters and half-brother had with
him. I was afraid to ask him (not
because I was afraid of him, but because we weren’t close), I was reluctant to
step outside of myself to get to know him, mostly out of fear of
rejection. So knowing that I can come
BOLDLY to Abba’s throne of grace – to His seat of judgment and pardon and
receive salvation through Yeshua HaMashiach is LIFE to me! But I have to seek it to find it.
P: Abba, my
Abba, my Elohim, mighty are Your ways, and right are your rulings. I have not always approached you boldly, at
times approaching You as though covered with shame, which at times I have been
(covered with shame). Abba, thank You
for the covering of Yeshua’s blood, and for loving me enough, even in my
iniquity/lawlessness, to grant pardon to me so that I would be able to come to
you without doubt, and in all confidence, because You and only You are able and
worthy.
I sing to You this song “We give
You all the glory, We worship You our Yah/God, You are worthy to be praised!” Thank You, Abba, for being here in our times
of need. I pray that You are pleased
with us this day, Abba, and that we continue to find favor in Your sight. I thank You for being the Father I can count
on, who won’t turn his back on me, and I pray that before his death, my dad
knew You, and had received Your gift of salvation.
In Your Son
Yeshua’s name, Amein.
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