Written by: John Sernaque
Dear Reader,
Books / Pr - Prayer (2002) / Chapter 3—God Hears Prayer
No Sincere Prayer Is Lost—Make your requests known to your Maker. Never is one repulsed who comes to Him with a contrite heart. Not one sincere prayer is lost. Amid the anthems of the celestial choir, God hears the cries of the weakest human being. We pour out our heart’s desire in our closets, we breathe a prayer as we walk by the way, and our words reach the throne of the Monarch of the universe. They may be inaudible to any human ear, but they cannot die away into silence, nor can they be lost through the activities of business that are going on. Nothing can drown the soul’s desire. It rises above the din of the street, above the confusion of the multitude, to the heavenly courts. It is God to whom we are speaking, and our prayer is heard. You who feel the most unworthy, fear not to commit your case to God.—(In Heavenly Places, 82.) {Pr 36.2}
God Hears Jesus’ Intercession Mingled With Our Prayers—Christ has pledged Himself to be our substitute and surety, and He neglects no one. There is an inexhaustible fund of perfect obedience accruing from His obedience. In heaven His merits, His self-denial and self-sacrifice, are treasured as incense to be offered up with the prayers of His people. As the sinner’s sincere, humble prayers ascend to the throne of God, Christ mingles with them the merits of His own life of perfect obedience. Our prayers are made fragrant by this incense. Christ has pledged Himself to intercede in our behalf, and the Father always hears His Son.—(Sons and Daughters of God, 22.) {Pr 36.3}
God loves His children so much He gave His only begotten Son to be our substitute and surety. Our Father longs for His children to come to Him all the time, in any situation, in good and bad times. God does not desire to lose any of His children. He knocks on the door of our hearts to confess and repent of our sins. If you come to God with a contrite heart, He will receive your humble prayer as sweet incense, delivered by Christ Jesus Himself. We have an advocate in heaven, the Captain of our salvation, who speaks directly to God on our behalf, and the Father always hears His Son.
Our kind and gracious Father,
We come to the foot of Your throne, to the Most Holy Place in the heavenly sanctuary, boldly and yet humbly with our thanksgiving, praise, and petitions. We are so thankful that no one that comes to You with a sincere and contrite heart is repulsed by You. It is our privilege to speak to You, come into Your presence, onto Your Holy ground in heaven. We have an advocate in heaven, our substitute and surety, who speaks our words to You. We are not worthy to be in Your presence, yet You hear every word we lift up to Your throne in heaven, through God the Son, our great intercessor. Though our words may not be eloquent, and as we do not always know what to pray, the Captain of our Salvation offers our prayers up to You as sweet incense. We thank You, dear Lord, for not neglecting anyone. There have been times in our life where we have been the lost sheep You have gone after, for which we are eternally grateful. We thank You for Your self-denial and self-sacrifice. We thank You for pledging Yourself as our intercessor. We pray that we can receive Your character. We pray for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit, fill our vessels, anoint our heads with oil, and let our cup runneth over. May we impart the oil unto those who do not know You or received You as their Lord and Savior. We pray that You grant us Your Power from on high, with Your strength and courage to confess Your name before man, that You may confess our name to the Father. We surrender our life to You, to do and to will of Your good pleasure. Please forgive us of our sins. May we hear Your voice and follow thee. We thank You for listening, hearing, and answering our prayers, in the name of Christ Jesus, we pray. Amen.
