“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
If you’re on social media or listening to the news, you’re no doubt sensing that there is a degree of clashing taking place in the world around us.
In fact, it seems at no other time in recent decades has there been such a clashing within our culture.
I have repeatedly been reminded about the message and principles I shared in When Kingdoms Clash: Strategies for Prayer in the Heat of Battle.
If ever there were a time when God’s people are called to take up arms—to raise hands lifted up to God—it is now.
“I want men everywhere to pray with holy hands lifted up to God, free from anger and resentment.”
1 Timothy 2:8 TLB
In other words, this is not a time to become angry and resentful, it is a time to come boldly to the throne of grace!
What the world needs—what we need—is to obtain mercy and find grace to help in this hour of need, chaos, and uncertainty.
“Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, whose people he has chosen as his own.”
Psalm 33:12 TLB
I want to remind you today that God is still on His throne—He is still sovereign—and He is watching.
He is watching how we respond, how we react, what we say, and what we do.
“He has made their hearts and closely watches everything they do.”
Psalm 33:15 TLB
Jesus gave us, His disciples, a command when He said, “Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27), and a promise when He said, “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give” (John 14:27 NLV).
Although we have read these Bible verses so many times, there are some days we need to be reminded of how we are called to live in this world.
“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.”
Philippians 4:6
The Bible tells us that worrying does absolutely no good (see Matthew 6:25-34) and has no place in our lives as people of faith (see Colossians 3:15).
Proverbs 3:5 tells us not to lean on our own understanding, but to simply trust God with all of our hearts.
Zechariah reminds us that our victory does not come “by force nor by strength, but by my Spirit” (Zechariah 4:6 NLT).
And Paul made clear that his influence and authority were not based on “wise and persuasive words, but with demonstrations of the Spirit’s power” (1 Corinthians 2:4 NIV).
“Great strength is not enough to save anyone…but the eyes of the Lord are watching over those who fear him, who rely upon his steady love.”
Psalm 33:18 TLB
All of that to say, it is not by how loud we are able to shout, or persuasively we are able to speak, or how many commentaries we are able to post to Facebook, but our strength lies in our reliance on God.
Futhermore, before we can begin to battle in prayer for the peace of our nation, we must first gain victory over the battle raging for the peace of our hearts and minds.
We must diligently labor to enter into the rest of God as the author of Hebrews urged us to do—warning that if we failed to do this one thing, we would find ourselves outside the protective will of God.
“Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following the same pattern of disobedience.”
Hebrews 4:11 BSB
I challenge you this week to make space in your daily life to put aside the noise and clamor of this world, and press into God’s presence with praise and thanksgiving for His steadfast love and faithfulness.
Let’s lift up our heads, our hearts, and our hands to where our help comes from—the Lord of heaven and earth!
“Lift up your hands and praise the Lord!” (Psalm 134:2), “lift up the hands that hang down” (Hebrews 12:12), “lift up your heads…that the King of glory may come in!” (Psalm 24:7).