Boldness in Prayer: Accessing God Through Faith

 

Summary

In our journey through the third chapter of Ephesians, we are reminded of the profound connection between doctrine and practical Christian living. The Apostle Paul, while soaring into the heights of theological understanding, always brings us back to the practical implications of these truths. The essence of our faith is not merely to fill our minds with doctrine but to transform our lives, particularly in our prayer life. The knowledge of doctrine should lead us to become people of prayer, living holy lives, and reflecting the richness of our faith in every aspect of our existence.

Paul emphasizes that the purpose of understanding doctrine is to bring us to a place of boldness and confidence in our relationship with God. This boldness is not reserved for apostles or those who have dedicated their lives to spiritual pursuits; it is for all believers. The glorious truth of the gospel is that we, who were once strangers and aliens, now have access to God. This access is characterized by boldness, a fearlessness and freedom from doubt, and confidence, the result of a process of growing in faith and trust in God.

The Apostle uses three key terms to describe our approach to God in prayer: boldness, access, and confidence. Boldness implies a fearlessness and freedom from apprehension, access refers to the privilege of entering into God's presence, and confidence is the assurance that comes from a process of growing in faith. These terms together paint a picture of what true Christian prayer should be—an experience marked by assurance and trust in our relationship with God.

The foundation of this boldness and access is our faith in Jesus Christ. It is through Him that we have this privilege, and it is by faith in Him that we can approach God with confidence. This is a fundamental truth that underscores the entire New Testament teaching on prayer. Our relationship with God is not based on our own merits but on the finished work of Christ, and it is through faith in Him that we can come boldly before the throne of grace.

Key Takeaways:

- Doctrine and practical living are inseparable in the Christian life. True understanding of doctrine should lead to a transformed life, characterized by a vibrant prayer life and holy living. If our knowledge of doctrine does not result in practical application, we must re-examine our understanding. [08:30]

- The gospel grants us boldness and access to God, a privilege once reserved for the Jews. This access is not limited to a select few but is available to all believers, breaking down any artificial distinctions between clergy and laity. [13:24]

- True Christian prayer is marked by boldness, access, and confidence. Boldness implies fearlessness, access refers to the privilege of entering God's presence, and confidence is the assurance that comes from growing in faith. [15:00]

- Our boldness and access to God are rooted in our faith in Jesus Christ. It is through Him that we have the privilege of approaching God with confidence, emphasizing the centrality of Christ in our relationship with God. [21:01]

- The process of gaining confidence in prayer is similar to learning a new skill. As we grow in our relationship with God and practice prayer, we develop confidence, moving from hesitation to assurance in our approach to God. [18:55]

Youtube Chapters:

- [00:00] - Welcome
- [07:27] - Introduction to Doctrine and Practical Living
- [08:15] - The Purpose of Doctrine
- [09:02] - The Connection Between Doctrine and Rich Christian Life
- [10:32] - Balancing Doctrine and Practice
- [11:13] - The Glorious Gospel for All
- [12:30] - The Pinnacle of Salvation: Access to God
- [14:02] - The Nature of Our Prayer Life
- [15:00] - Boldness in Prayer
- [16:25] - Understanding Access to God
- [17:45] - Confidence in Prayer
- [19:22] - The New Testament's Teaching on Prayer
- [20:45] - The Foundation of Our Boldness
- [21:40] - Faith in Jesus Christ as the Key to Access

Study Guide

Bible Study Discussion Guide

Bible Reading:
- Ephesians 3:12 - "In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him."
- Hebrews 10:19-22 - "Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water."

Observation Questions:
1. According to Ephesians 3:12, what are the three key terms Paul uses to describe our approach to God in prayer? How do these terms relate to each other? [15:00]
2. In the sermon, what does the pastor say about the relationship between doctrine and practical Christian living? [08:15]
3. How does the sermon describe the privilege of access to God that believers have? [12:30]
4. What does the pastor emphasize about the distinction between clergy and laity in terms of access to God? [13:24]

Interpretation Questions:
1. How does the concept of boldness in prayer challenge traditional views of how we should approach God? What might this boldness look like in a believer's prayer life? [15:00]
2. The sermon mentions that our relationship with God is not based on our own merits but on the finished work of Christ. How does this understanding affect a believer's confidence in prayer? [21:01]
3. What does the pastor mean when he says that doctrine and practical living are inseparable in the Christian life? How can this be applied in everyday situations? [09:20]
4. How does the sermon illustrate the process of gaining confidence in prayer? What parallels are drawn to learning a new skill? [18:55]

Application Questions:
1. Reflect on your current prayer life. Do you approach God with boldness, access, and confidence? If not, what steps can you take to cultivate these attitudes in your prayers? [15:00]
2. The sermon emphasizes the importance of doctrine leading to a transformed life. Identify one area of your life where you can apply a doctrinal truth to bring about change. [08:30]
3. How can you ensure that your understanding of doctrine leads to practical application in your daily life? Share a specific example where you can apply this principle. [09:20]
4. The pastor speaks against the artificial distinction between clergy and laity. How can you, as a believer, embrace the privilege of access to God in your personal spiritual journey? [13:24]
5. Consider a time when you felt hesitant or unsure in your prayer life. What can you learn from the sermon about moving from hesitation to assurance in your approach to God? [18:55]
6. How can you encourage others in your small group or community to develop a prayer life characterized by boldness, access, and confidence? What role can you play in supporting them?
7. Identify a specific distraction or barrier in your life that hinders your prayer life. What practical steps can you take this week to address this issue and improve your connection with God?

Devotional

Day 1: Doctrine Transforms Life
Understanding doctrine is not just an intellectual exercise; it is meant to transform our lives. The Apostle Paul emphasizes that the knowledge of doctrine should lead us to become people of prayer, living holy lives, and reflecting the richness of our faith in every aspect of our existence. If our understanding of doctrine does not result in practical application, it is essential to re-examine our understanding. The connection between doctrine and practical Christian living is profound, as it should lead to a vibrant prayer life and holy living. [08:30]

Ephesians 4:22-24 (ESV): "To put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness."

Reflection: Identify one area of your life where your understanding of doctrine has not yet led to transformation. What practical steps can you take today to align this area with your faith?


Day 2: Boldness and Access for All Believers
The gospel grants us boldness and access to God, a privilege once reserved for the Jews. This access is not limited to a select few but is available to all believers, breaking down any artificial distinctions between clergy and laity. The Apostle Paul highlights that this boldness is characterized by fearlessness and freedom from doubt, and it is a glorious truth that we, who were once strangers and aliens, now have access to God. [13:24]

Hebrews 10:19-22 (ESV): "Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water."

Reflection: Reflect on any barriers you feel in approaching God with boldness. What steps can you take to embrace the access granted to you through the gospel today?


Day 3: The Nature of True Christian Prayer
True Christian prayer is marked by boldness, access, and confidence. Boldness implies fearlessness, access refers to the privilege of entering God's presence, and confidence is the assurance that comes from growing in faith. These terms together paint a picture of what true Christian prayer should be—an experience marked by assurance and trust in our relationship with God. [15:00]

James 5:16 (ESV): "Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working."

Reflection: Consider your current prayer life. How can you incorporate more boldness, access, and confidence into your prayers today?


Day 4: Faith in Christ as the Foundation
Our boldness and access to God are rooted in our faith in Jesus Christ. It is through Him that we have the privilege of approaching God with confidence, emphasizing the centrality of Christ in our relationship with God. This is a fundamental truth that underscores the entire New Testament teaching on prayer. Our relationship with God is not based on our own merits but on the finished work of Christ. [21:01]

Colossians 1:21-22 (ESV): "And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him."

Reflection: Reflect on how your faith in Jesus Christ influences your approach to God. How can you deepen your reliance on Christ's finished work in your daily walk with God?


Day 5: Growing in Confidence Through Practice
The process of gaining confidence in prayer is similar to learning a new skill. As we grow in our relationship with God and practice prayer, we develop confidence, moving from hesitation to assurance in our approach to God. This growth is a journey, and it requires intentionality and perseverance. [18:55]

2 Peter 1:5-8 (ESV): "For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ."

Reflection: Identify one specific area in your prayer life where you lack confidence. What practical steps can you take to grow in confidence and assurance in this area today?

Quotes


The Apostle has been reminding these Ephesians of this glorious and wonderful thing that they who had been Gentiles and aliens and strangers from the covenants of Promise without hope and without God in the world have now by this glorious gospel that he had preached unto them being made fellow HS with the Saints fellow members of the body with the Jews fellow partakers of the great promises. [00:11:10]

The thing he's getting them to Rejoice about is this that now they as the Jews who formerly alone had been the people of God and who had access to God through their ceremonial and ritual in the temple and through their high priest and so on they now who were a strange from God have been brought nigh and they can enter into the presence of God they can pray as the Jews had always prayed. [00:12:00]

Of all the blessings of Christian salvation none is greater than this that we have access to God In Prayer now let me emphasize this before I come to the details you notice the word we in whom we have boldness and access in other words what I'm going to say doesn't only apply to Apostles it doesn't only apply to certain people whove given themselves entirely to the cultivation of their Christian Life it applies to all Christians. [00:12:42]

Let us banish from our thinking once and forever that artificial and unscriptural and in indeed sinful dichotomy which you get for instance in all forms of Catholic teaching which divides people off into two groups the religious and the Ley there is no such distinction in scripture we says Paul I the Apostle you who are formerly Gentiles we all together have this boldness and access with confidence. [00:13:24]

The manner of our Approach To God In Prayer shall I introduce it by asking a question how do you pray what's the character of your prayer life if you if I asked you one by one to get up at this moment and tell me how you feel when you get on your knees in prayer to God what happens do you enjoy it is it free is it certain is it assured how do you get on in prayer what kind of praying is your praying what kind of life is your prayer life. [00:14:09]

Here is what it should be according to the Apostle it should be one which is characterized by bold access with confidence that's true Christian prayer now the terms are worth looking at separately what do he mean by boldness it means fearlessness it means a freedom from all apprehension it means a freedom from all doubt that we may be rejected it means a freedom from all sense of evil which tends to make true prayer impossible. [00:14:54]

Boldness obviously means an absence of restraint or fear in any shape or form you just think of the picture of a bold man he's a man who steps straight forward he's afraid of nothing there's a mighty enemy but the bold man walks with chest high with a confidence and with an assurance he's bold now that's the essence of this word there's no fear there there's no restraint he's not conscious of inhibitions he's not hesitant or doubtful or uncertain boldness is the exact opposite of all that. [00:15:26]

The second word is the word exess what does this represent well if you like you can translate this word as Entre having an Entre we use that term don't we ah says the man I've got an Entre there many people are not allowed in but I I know the way to get in I have a means of Entry it's the privilege of entrance it's the privilege of admission you can get into a certain house the majority are not allowed but you have an Entre that's it. [00:16:20]

It means that uh there is a kind of friendly relationship existing between us and God whereby we know that we are acceptable to him and have an assurance that he is favorably dispersed towards us that's the essence of this term exis again you see it carries much the same idea we know I say that that that God is ready to look upon us and to receive us that he's waiting there to receive us so that we don't fumble as it were on the doorstep we've got a right of Entry an access an entree. [00:16:57]

Confidence is always the end of a process when you've got confidence it means that you've been doing something and the end of that which you've been doing is that you're now confident think of your inst for instance of yourself learning to ride a bicycle and the first moment when the hand of the one helping you was taken off you were hesitant and uncertain but you reach a point when having done it so many times you've got confidence and you're ready to go alone on the street and round corners and uphills and down it confidence it's the result of a process. [00:18:15]

We go into the presence of God with confidence because of a process through which we've gone it's the conclusion of something that has taken place so we go with confidence as well as boldness in this AIS that we have now you can search the whole of the New Testament about prayer and you will find that everywhere always that is what it teaches us about how to pray this according to the New Testament is true prayer and you know there is a sense in which nothing else rarely is praying. [00:19:19]

What is it that makes this way of entry into God's presence possible how can I have this boldness and access with confidence and again you know there's only one answer to that and again because of its importance the Apostle says it twice over in this one verse in whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him whom him he couldn't emphasize it more than that what does the faith of him mean well it means the faith of which he is the object if you prefer it you can say in whom we have boldness with and exess with confidence by means of our faith in him the Lord Jesus Christ. [00:20:43]

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Transcript
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