“Receiving God’s Forgiveness”

For a long time I held on to the guilt of my sins that I had committed when I was younger. I just couldn’t see how God could totally forgive me. Holding on to guilt after we have asked for forgiveness from the Holy One is prideful and thus sin. It’s like saying, “Your work on the cross wasn’t enough Jesus!” The truth is what Christ did on the cross for us is enough!

Admitting our guilt of disobedience before God and turning from it is essential to having a right relationship with Him. But, receiving God’s forgiveness is just as important. Holding on to guilt is as sinful as continuing in the sin itself. 

Read Hebrews 10:19-20. Write out these verses in your own words:  

How can you apply this passage to your own prayer life? 

We have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place because of what Jesus did through the shedding of His blood on the cross. He has provided a way for us, a new and living way, by means of His body. The division, the curtain that separated us from The Lord God Almighty, was ripped in two. There is no longer a division between mankind and God. Jesus has made a new and living way. All we have to do is accept Him by believing that He is who He says He is.

Read Hebrews 10:21 & 22. (NIV) Fill in the blanks: 

“… and since we have a _____________ ________________ over the house of God, let us ___________ _________ to God with a ______________ ____________ in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to ________________ us from a __________ conscience and having our bodies ___________________ with __________ water.”

Christ as the Great Priest 

The spiritual work of Christ as the great priest is His ability to restore us to a right relationship with God. Let’s explore the aspects of His work. Read each paragraph and the corresponding scripture. (This is a reading assignment so don’t skip the verses and don’t be afraid of these words ~ they won’t bite!):

1. 
   
   1. 
      

1. His propitiation

: Jesus turned God’s wrath away from guilty sinners. In other words, He satisfied God’s wrath. (Hebrews 2:17a)

1. * Jesus satisfied God’s wrath against our sin.

1. His expatiation

: Jesus provided the sacrifice required to cancel our sins’ debt and cleanse us from the guilt resulting from them. (Hebrews 2:17b)

1. *Jesus provided Himself as the sacrifice required for our sin.

1. His suffering

: Jesus endured suffering when He was tempted just like you and me and endured the pain of the cross.  Because of this He is able to help us in our temptation and pain. (Hebrews 2:18)

* Jesus is able to help us in our temptation and pain.

1. His ability to save

: Jesus is the eternal living priest and His role is permanent. Christ is eternally living to intercede on our behalf. (Hebrews 7:23-25)

1. 
   
   1. * Jesus intercedes between God and us.

1. His presence before God in heaven

: Christ doesn’t reign as High Priest in a man-made sanctuary. He reigns in the presence of the Lord God Himself, in the true sanctuary in the Holy of Holies. (Hebrews 9:23-28)

* Jesus is our True High Priest in the Holy of Holies.

1. 
   
   1. 
      

1. His kingly presence on the throne

: Christ reigns at the right hand of God. He is King Jesus! (Hebrews 8:1 & 2)

* Jesus is our King sitting at the right hand of God.

1. 
   
   1. 
      

1. He is coming again

: Christ came to earth the first time to offer Himself as a living sacrifice to bear our sins. The second coming is to bring salvation to those who are waiting for Him and bring punishment against those who deny Him. In other words, He will safely deliver those who believe in Him from this world and evil. In fact He will remove the evil from this world as He establishes His kingdom here. (Hebrews 9:27-29)

* Jesus is coming soon to rule and reign.

Because we have a great high priest, we can and must draw near to God with a sincere heart and with full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. These seem like nice words, but what do they really mean? Let’s dig deeper and discover how we are to receive His forgiveness. This is how we are to draw near to God:

Draw near to God with a sincere heart ~ with a clean heart.

With a Sincere Heart

Having a sincere heart is a genuine desire for God. Our affections and passions are directed toward loving Him and being obedient to Him. Our motives reflect our true love for Him, not what we can get out of Him.

Read Hebrews 3:12. What kind of heart turns away from the Living God?

It is only with a sincere heart that a person can approach the Living God. When we confess our sins and receive His forgiveness, the hardness of our sinful unbelieving hearts is perfectly softened by Him. His forgiveness does major heart surgery on us.

With a Clean Heart 

Our hearts are sprinkled with the blood of Christ. That may sound morbid to some, but if you look at the sacrifices made in the Old Testament, you will see what the sprinkling of sacrificial blood does. 

Read Exodus 24:8. What did Moses say about the blood He sprinkled on the people?

Read Hebrews 12:22-24. Whose blood is sprinkled?

What does it represent? 

What do you suppose the new covenant is?

What do we receive when we are forgiven?

By the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ we have forgiveness of sins. It is offered to everyone. We must receive Christ’s forgiveness in order to be cleansed and to approach the Holy One. This is a choice an act of free will. If we hold onto the guilt of our sins, we are in essence saying, “Jesus, Your sacrifice isn’t enough!” Our hearts must be cleansed by the blood of Christ. When we have sincere and clean hearts, the guilt is removed, and we can approach God’s throne with confidence.

Prayer Time

Have you allowed Christ to clean your guilty conscience or are you holding on to it? Allow Him to wash you spiritually with the blood of the Perfect Lamb. Go to your Prayer Journal and write out your prayer accepting and praising God for the blood Christ shed for the forgiveness of your sins.

Discussion Questions

1. Confession (admitting our guilt) before God is essential to having a right relationship with Him. But, receiving God’s forgiveness is just as important. Explain what you believe being forgiven means.

1. 
   

1. The spiritual work of Christ as the great high priest is His ability to restore us to a right relationship with God. How is the sacrifice that Christ made for you and me enough for us to approach God?

1. 
   

1. Do you understand being sprinkled with the blood of Christ? Describe how it affects your life?

“Agreeing With God in Prayer”

“I agree with you”. Nothing gets to me more than a disagreement. I like it when someone sees I-to-eye with my opinion. There’s one problem with this; I am not always right. (Now that’s a newsmaker!) Here is one thing I am sure of; God is always right and yet I’m not always in agreement with Him.

Believing God is agreeing with Him and acting on this agreement; this is faith. Disagreement with God is a lack of faith and a willful act of disobedience. Agreeing with God is professing our faith in His perfect will and supreme authority and it's essential to an effective prayer life.

Read Hebrews 4:14. Who is our High Priest?

What are we to hold firmly to?

Jesus, our High Priest, has gone before the Father on our behalf and has made a way for us to have a right relationship with Him. When we profess our faith in Jesus, our belief that He is who He says He is, we are in total agreement with the Lord God Almighty.

In my mind I used to see, being saved by Jesus, as dangling from a lifeline that was attached to a helicopter. I had just been rescued from a flood and was holding on with all my might as Jesus flew the helicopter away from the dirty, swirling flood waters. This mental image is partially true ~ I was drowning in the dangerous flood of my sins and the influences of the world that pulled me into its strong current, but the rescue is entirely different. Instead, Christ Himself reaches into the water and with His strong arms and lifts me out of this swirling promise of death. The assurance of the strength in His mighty embrace surrounds me as I lay my head on His chest and listen to His sacred heart beating. This is the faith I profess, that Jesus is my true rescuer, my comfort, my strength, my love and the source of eternal life. I’m not letting go because I know that He will not let go of me.

Read Hebrews 4:15. Answer the following questions:

What is Jesus able to sympathize with? Why?

His sympathy and compassion for us is strong. It is not a patronizing, “You poor thing,” but a strong loving response of “I know what you’ve been through and have been tempted by, because I’ve been in the position you are in.” When we profess our faith in Jesus, we have a Rescuer, our Savior, who has been through the battle of this world and is victorious over it.

Read Hebrews 4:16. Answer the following:

1. What kind of throne do we approach?
2. What do we approach the throne with?
3. What do we receive?

Because of Jesus we can approach His throne of grace and mercy with confidence. Let’s look at each component of this particular verse:

Grace ~ Confidence ~ Mercy

The Throne of Grace

We see a throne as a symbol of authority, exalted position and majesty. God’s throne is different than all other thrones because it is a throne of grace. It represents the kindness of God towards people. God’s grace is kindness given to the undeserving. The grace we receive from God is unmerited favor because of the actions of Christ on our behalf.

Read Ephesians 2:4 & 5. What is the reason for the salvation God gives to those who accept His Son as their Rescuer?

Just like the old hymn says, “Grace, grace, God’s grace; Grace that is greater than all our sin” we receive grace from God. It is a grace that is definitely greater that all our sins. If it weren’t then we’d be lost forever.

A Confident Approach

We can approach God’s throne of grace with confidence because of what Christ has done for us as our High Priest by making the perfect sacrifice for our sins. It isn’t by anything we have done that allows for us to come before God. It’s all because of what Jesus has done.

The Greek word for “confidence” is “parresia” which means “freedom in speaking”. We are free to tell God all we have on our hearts with confidence. And the great thing about telling Him everything is that He hears us and doesn’t break our confidence. It’s just between God and us, no one else. 

He has given us freedom 

to come to God in confidence.

Look up the following verses and describe why we can approach God’s throne of grace. 

Ephesians 3:12

1 John 3:21 & 22

1 John 5:14

Jesus, our High Priest, has made a way for us to approach God’s throne of grace with confidence through faith in Him, obedience to His commands and according to His will. Another line of the old hymn tells of the grace of God. We receive His grace that forever exceeds our sin and our guilt when we approach His throne with a belief in His Son Jesus and accept His forgiveness:

“Marvelous grace of our loving Lord, grace that exceeds our sin and our guilt!”

Receiving God‘s Mercy

We have great need of God’s mercy because without it we are in a hopeless state. We are fortunate beyond all we could ever imagine by having access to the mercy room of God. Realizing this ability through God’s love for us through Christ and accepting His love and forgiveness is the key to a successful and meaningful prayer life.

Read Ephesians 2:4-9. (NIV) Fill in the blanks:

Verse 4 God is great in _________________ God is rich in ____________________.

Verse 5   We are made _________________ in Christ when we were ___________ in our _________________. It is by ________________ we have been _________________.

Verse 6 God raised us up with _______________ and God seated us with Him in the ________________ ________________ in _____________ __________________.

Verse 7 He seated us with Christ so God could show us His _____________________ ____________ of His ________________.

Verse 8 It is by _______________ we have been _____________, through ___________

Verse 9 Salvation is not by ______________. Our works cannot save us so that we cannot ____________________.

In order to receive God’s mercy at His throne of grace, we must acknowledge God’s great love for us and view His Son’s sacrifice as sufficient to provide access to Him. We must receive His mercy. It is for the taking ~ a free gift of God’s incomparable riches of grace. Agreeing with God is having faith in Him.

Prayer Time

Are you in agreement with God? If you are, take this time to approach His throne of grace with confidence and receive His mercy.  Go to your Prayer Journal and write out your prayer of agreement with God. Maybe you don’t agree with Him. Go to your prayer journal and tell Him about it.

Discussion Questions

1. Believing God is agreeing with Him and acting upon this agreement; this is faith. When you go to God in prayer do you believe God and that His way is always right? Why or why not?
2. When we profess our faith in Jesus, we have a Rescuer, our Savior, who has been through the battle of this world and is victorious over it. Have you experienced His salvation? Do you depend upon this salvation as you pray? Explain.
3. We can approach God’s throne of grace with confidence because of what Christ has done for us as our High Priest by making the perfect sacrifice for our sins. It isn’t by anything we have done that allows for us to come before God. Do you feel that you have to prove yourself or earn merit to enter God’s presence in prayer? Why or why not?

“Recognizing Our Need Before God”

The dictionary defines “need” as “a lack of something required or desirable. It is a necessity or obligation. Need is a condition of poverty.” But we have diluted this word and use it for everything.

Do you recognize the following statements? “I need some money.” “I need more time.” “I need to borrow the car.” The word “need” is a fill-in-the-blank word. If you were asked what your greatest need is, surely something would pop into your head immediately. 

“What is your greatest need?’” Write down whatever pops into your head:

My Greatest Need Is:

Turn to Philippians 4:19. (NIV) Fill in the blanks: 

“And my God will _______________ all your _______________ according to His glorious ____________ in ________________ _________________.”

According to the definitions of need found in the dictionary, There are two we will study in regards to our need of God. They are:

1. Something required
2. Something desired

Both define our need of God and God is faithful to meet all our needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus.

Something Required

Read Micah 6:6-8. When you come before God in prayer what does He require? (See verse 8).

When we have a relationship with God, we have a “need” to meet the requirements He has of us. These definitions are meant to glorify Him and to edify ourselves and others. He commands us to “act justly, love mercy and walk humbly before Him.” Let’s look at these “need” requirements individually:

To act justly - Is to fulfill the obligation to reflect God’s attribute of justice. We must emulate His justice. This does not mean that we are to judge others. But we are to live our lives in accordance with what God deems as just.

Read 1 Peter 3:8-12. What are the requirements found in these verses for a right relationship with God?  (List as many as you can find):

When we are in a right relationship with God, what happens when we pray?   

What happens to us if we are not in a right relationship with God?

To have a right relationship with God we live our lives reflecting who He is. We must treat each other the way we are treated by God. He is full of compassion and mercy and so should we. The great thing is God supplies this ability because we can’t do it on our own. We receive His ability to love others and must rely on this promise.

To love mercy- God is merciful and requires the same of those who place their trust in Him. Do you show mercy? Often we don't know how or don't want to show mercy. We feel it is our "right" to punish those who have done wrong to us or our loved ones. But, God tells us differently.

Read Isaiah 57:15. Where are the two places that God lives?

What two things does God revive of the contrite and lowly?

Being contrite and lowly doesn't mean being a milquetoast. It means that we confess our sins to God who already knows them and assume our place of humility before Him. I think, (my thoughts) God answers prayers based on our humility and confession before Him. Are we holding back and standing in our pride? It's just a thought, but I often wonder if I am truly coming to Him with my need in the right frame of mind. 

Walk humbly with God- It is in our continuing relationship with God that we “need” to humble ourselves before Him. It is a requirement in our right relationship with Him. In Day One of this week we studied about our position before God. We learned our position involves knowing that He is God and we are not.

Read John 8:12. Answer the following:

How does Jesus describe Himself?

What does He promise to those who follow Him?

Apply this to your life.

How will you respond?

Walking humbly with God is to follow Jesus. He is the only Leader that can show us the way we should go. When we go it alone, we walk in the darkness. 

Something Desired

Read Psalm 37:4. Write out this verse and circle the words delight, desires and heart:

Now define each word below:

Delight :

Desire :

Heart:

   

So often when we seek to satiate the desires of the physical body, our spiritual desires get buried, when shovel after shovel of the dirt of our obsession is piled on our spirit as we dig for the treasures this world offers. We’re digging for the wrong treasure. This verse in Psalm 37 gives us the right place to fulfill what our heart, our inner being, desires. When we seek God, we find great pleasure and gratification in the deepest part of who we really are. And, guess what? God desires to fulfill our heart’s desires. He delights in it!

“The Lord your God is with you,

He is mighty to save.

He will take great delight in you,

He will quiet you with His love, 

He will rejoice over you with singing.” Zephaniah 3:17

I remember holding my babies and rocking them gently, quieting them with a soft lullaby. They were fed and warm, swaddled snuggly in their blankets. I can’t describe the joy I felt looking down on these precious little ones. They were safe in my arms and their needs were taken care of. They rested peacefully and would smile in their sleep. What a delight! God feels the same way about you and me, even more so. He longs to fulfill our needs, to hold us safely in His arms so we can rest in the sheer delight of His fulfillment.

“And my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”                                  Philippians 4:19

Prayer Time

Remember the first question that I asked? What is your greatest need? I want you to answer it again, but this time, close your eyes and ask the Lord to reveal to you your true greatest need, the one your spirit longs for. Allow Him to uncover what the waste of your earthly desires has hidden.  Go to your Prayer Journal and write out what you discover. 

Discussion Questions

1. We all have needs. Our true need is for God. God requires three things found in Micah 6:6-8. What are they?
2. What does God say about meeting your true needs?
3. How does knowing that God delights in meeting your needs affect your prayers?

“Admission to God in Prayer”

“Admission to God in Prayer”

When a person is as hard-headed as I am, it is like pulling teeth to get an admission that they are wrong. We can blame hard-headedness, others or genetics (that may have a little to do with it). Hey! We can place blame all the way back to Adam and Eve if we want to. But, there’s a curious thing about blame and guilt, excuses don’t make us right with God.

Read 1 John 1:9 (NIV) Fill in the blanks:

“If we __________________ our ___________, He is ________________________ and ________ and will ____________________ us our sins and ____________ us from all ____________________________.”

If we take this verse and break it down, we will see that there are two subjects involved:

1. Us
2. God

We’ve begun to learn our role and God’s role in our lives as it relates to our prayers.  When we go to Him in prayer an essential part of it is our admission that we have sinned. I’ve rushed through this part or even ignored it. Can’t I just ask for forgiveness over anything I may have done and move on? Of course I can because God knows my sins. However, to have an effective prayer life I need to lay those sins, that He brings to my mind, before Him in true repentance.

So what is our role and what is God’s role listed in 1 John 1:9?  What do you think they are?

Our role is to: 

God’s role is to:

Our Role- Confession

Read Psalm 32:1 & 2. (NIV) Fill in the blanks:

“Blessed is he whose transgressions are __________________________ whose sins are ____________________. Blessed is the man whose sin the __________ does not count ___________ him and in whose spirit there is no ______________________.”

The definition for this particular word “blessed” in Hebrew is “asrey” which means “happy.” The dictionary defines it as “fortunate, pleasurable.” 

Being forgiven of our sins is a pleasurable experience. We should consider ourselves fortunate because the debt we owe for our sins we cannot pay and God through Jesus has made payment for our sins. Not only that, when we are truthful about our sins, the corrosion of our spirits, caused by continued sin, is gone and we are restored. A tremendous weight is gone. When we confess our sins and the clean and unburden life is given, we experience pure delight. We are filled with unspeakable joy.

Read Psalm 32:3 & 4. Answer the following:

What happens when we keep silent about our sins?

Whose hand is heavy upon us? 

What is sapped away?

What are your thoughts about these two verses?

Have you ever experienced this? Explain.

It is not just because our own consciences weigh heavily upon us when we sin; it is the heavy hand of God. Our spirits recognize God whether we believe that God exists or not because when He created us He placed His eternal spirit within us. This is the part of us that longs to know God. The world would argue with this, but I believe our spirits recognize God. Sometimes this desire is buried deeply and might be so deep that our guilt is numbed. Those who walk with the Lord will feel this desire of the Lord. His Holy Spirit calls us. 

Read further in Psalm 32:5. (NIV) Fill in the blanks:

Then I ___________________________ my _________ to You and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, “I will _____________ my __________________ to the Lord,” and You forgave the guilt of my sins.

Now take the underlined words in the passage you just filled in and fill in the blanks below with the word you think matches the definitions:

___________________: The Hebrew word for this is “hattat” which means “to sin, do wrong; lack obedience and sometimes habitual sinfulness.”

___________________: The Hebrew word for this is “yada” which means “to perceive, understand, know discern; to be familiar with, be aware of.”

___________________: The Hebrew word for this is “pesa” which means “to rebel or transgress. It denotes willful deviation from the path of righteousness, a premeditated crossing of the line of God’s law, a rebellious act of rejecting God’s authority.”

___________________: The Hebrew word for this is “yadah” which means “to speak out, confess; praise; to sing; to give thanks.”

In our role of confession, we must first acknowledge our sin. This literally means to perceive, understand and be aware of our lack of obedience. Our acknowledgment of this habitual sinfulness against God is the essential first step in having a right relationship with God. After we acknowledge our sin, which is admitting the truth of our sin to ourselves, we then confess our transgression to God. We literally verbalize our rebellious acts against God‘s authority.  In other words, we admit the truth about our sin to ourselves and then confess the truth about our rebellion against God to God.

Acknowledgement + Confession = A right relationship with God

God’s Role- Forgiveness

After we acknowledge our sin and confess our transgressions to God, God immediately forgives the guilt of our sins.  (See verse5b). 

Read Psalm 32:6-8. Answer the following:

What are the godly to do? Why?

What do you think “surely when the mighty waters rise, they will not reach him” mean?

How is God described in verse seven?

What will He do for those who approach Him in prayer

In verse eight God promises that He will do what?

How can you apply this to your life?

God sets us apart as holy when we come to Him in obedience and give our lives to Him. He protects us in times of trouble and surrounds us with songs of deliverance. In a right relationship with God, He instructs us in His will. His council is perfect. God doesn’t want a bunch of mules that He has to bridle. God wants people who respond promptly to Him on their own.

Prayer Time

Go to your Prayer Journal and take this time to confess your sins to God. Ask Him to reveal anything in your life that He does not approve of. Ask Him to forgive you and lead you into better behavior that will only glorify Him. 

Discussion Questions

1. So if our role is to confess our sins to God and God’s role is to forgive us our sins, then why do we have such a hard time believing that we are forgiven and made right with God?

2. Being forgiven of our sins is a pleasurable experience because Christ Jesus made a way for us to be forgiven. Why do we often hide our sins and not confess them to Him? 

3. What does “God is our hiding place” mean to you? 

Recognizing Our Position in Prayer

“Recognizing Our Position in Prayer”

We've studied about our need to recognize God’s position to glorify Him in our prayers. Though we will never be able to study all of who God is, we did learn that God is God and we are not. Today we will examine our position in relationship to God’s position.

I guess I’ve really never thought about God’s position in my prayers and in my daily life until I really began to study what God had to say about prayer. And I really never viewed myself in any position before God. But now since I have studied and continue to grow deeper in my communication with Him, I am beginning to understand the magnitude of who God really is. With that, my position before God is coming into focus. It’s so vital to an effective prayer life to understand our position before God.

Turn to Isaiah 66:1-2. (NIV) Fill in the blanks:

This is what the Lord says: “_________________ is My throne and the ___________ is My footstool. Where is the _____________ you will ______________ for Me? Where will My resting place be? Has not My hand made all things, and so they came into being?” declares the Lord. “This is one I esteem: he who is _________________ and __________________ in spirit and __________________ at my _____________,” declares LORD.

God is on the throne and reigns eternally. He is Creator God and everything that is exists is created by Him and for Him. God desires to reside in hearts which are humble and contrite. In other words, He wants to reside in hearts that recognize their need of God and His superiority over them.

We glean 3 things from this verse that defines our position in relationship to God’s position.  They are: 

1. Humility (Recognizing one’s lower position in relation to God.)
2. Contrition (Sincere remorse)
3. Fear (Respect for God’s position)

These three words describe the make-up of a person who is in a right relationship with God. This is the position we must assume in order to have an affective prayer life. 

Let’s examine these individually:

1. Humility

Humility is the lack of pride or the freedom from pride. It is not self-abasement (false pride) No one likes false humility, especially God. He can spot it immediately.

Read Colossians 2:16-23. What do you think false humility is after reading these verses? Why is it a hindrance to our prayers?

In our self-abasement (false humility), we try to show God that we are humble through our actions. The adherence to man-made commandments is pride at its worse. We are trying to redeem ourselves by our self-imposed and self-inflicted regulations. We, in our guilt, are trying to make ourselves right with God. In other words, we are replacing what Christ did on the cross with our insufficient, prideful acts of human redemption. Only Christ’s redemption is sufficient.

We must examine the motives of our hearts. When we humble ourselves before God it should mean wanting His will and way over anything else in this world. It is knowing that His way is best even when we don’t understand it. It is believing Him no matter what is going on around us.

Read 1 Peter 5:6 & 7. What does it say about humility?

Why can we cast all our cares on Him?

Humility, the kind that God requires, is one in which we recognize our need for Him. We learn and accept that we cannot do anything to correct our sin or alleviate our guilt from sin. All our efforts to redeem ourselves amount to nothing. The only thing, the excellent thing, is to submit to God and His redemption. His redemption is through His Son and our acceptance of His actions on the cross. It is enough to cover us. What we do to cover our guilt is worth nothing.

True humility recognizes our need of God.

2. Contrition

Contrition is sincere remorse for wrongdoing. It is repentance, a conscious turning from evil or disobedience to God. Contrition is our response to God’s grace. We turn 180 degrees from our sin, our false humility, our idols and this world and place our focus on God through Christ Jesus.

Read 2 Corinthians 7:10. What is godly sorrow?

What does it bring?

What does repentance lead to? 

What does godly sorrow do about regret?

What does worldly sorrow bring?

True humility brings about contrition and repentance. This all leads to salvation. We are saved by God from the penalty of death resulting from the guilt of our sins. Worldly sorrow involves false humility and no repentance before God. Because of this, it leads to death. There is no salvation involved. 

A contrite heart is required for a right relationship with God. God resides in the hearts of those who are truly contrite and repentant. In order to have an effective prayer life, we must humble ourselves and have sincere remorse for our sins before the Holy One.

Contrition is our response to God’s grace.

3. Fear 

The fear of the Lord is a fear that is defined as awe and reverence felt in the presence of His highest authority.

Read Psalm 111:9. What two words describe His name?

1.

2.

We worship what we fear. This is because what we fear is often foremost in our minds. The fear or respect we have for God is essential to our relationship with Him. We must always have Him foremost in our minds.

Let’s examine the two words that Psalm 111:9 uses to describe God.

The Holiness of God

God is holy and we must recognize this. He is separate from evil and cannot tolerate it. God is completely perfect. Our approach to God in prayer must bear this in mind.

Read Exodus 15:11. Answer the questions this passage poses:

The Awesomeness of God

The fear of God (awesomeness) we experience when we approach Him in prayer is a positive experience. Our fear before God, His awesomeness, produces righteous living. We are devoted to Him in our awe of Him. In order to have an effective prayer life, we must fear God (respect Him). The fear of the Lord helps to keep our eyes focused on Him.

Read Psalm 86:11. When we learn the ways of the Lord what do we walk in?

Why do we need an “undivided heart” in order to truly fear His Name?

In a right relationship with God we are humbled. There is a lack of pride and self-sufficiency. In our humility towards God there is freedom. The lines of communication are clear. We acknowledge our need of His power and grace and accept our awful lacking without Him. In our humility we see our need to turn away from sin and the pull of this world. 

Responding to God’s power and grace causes us to have a good and effective prayer life. We must turn towards Him in repentance and away from the distractions that interrupt our conversation with Him. Humility and contrition are components of the fear (respect) of God. It is the knowing and accepting that He is holy and powerful, yet full of grace in perfect love, in which we delight in Him.

Humility before God is true freedom.

Prayer Time

Don’t view yourself as a “nothing” before God. View yourself as His dearly loved child. Go to your Prayer Journal and write out your recognition of God’s position in relationship to your position.

1. Humility towards God
2. Contrition towards God 
3. Fear of God 

Discussion Question

1. Define “false humility” and why it is a hindrance to our prayers?

2. Contrition is sincere remorse for wrongdoing. It is repentance, a conscious turning from evil or disobedience to God. Contrition is our response to God’s grace. How do you come to God with true humility? Explain.

3. The fear of the Lord is a fear that is defined as awe and reverence felt in the presence of His highest authority. How is this kind of fear different from worldly fear?