March 29, 2004



"Our Father….
Hallowed be Your name…"
(Luke 11:1-4)

Prayer brings a holy tension to our hearts. There is an intimacy of relationship and familiarity when we say "Father." Yet, there is a sense of other-ness and awe when we acknowledge His holiness: "Hallowed be Your name."

Since you are taking the time to meet God every day, (during these 40 Days of Prayer) you must have a personal relationship with Him. We call Him "Father," right? We must also learn that our Father is the HOLY and awesome God of the universe!

· Accepting; loving; approachable. These words describe our Father.
· Respect; honor; fear. These words describe our response to the Holiness of our God.

We must not be afraid to approach the throne of grace when we sin. Our Father accepts us and invites us to come to His throne. The Bible says that Jesus, our high-priest, has made a way for us to approach Him and find mercy-especially when we need it!

This boldness, however, does not mean that we take the Holiness of God lightly. He is perfectly righteous and we are sinful. The reason we are bold when approaching His throne is the blood of Jesus. We are not flippant about sin; we are confident in the payment He made for our sin.

He is holy. He is light and in Him is no darkness at all. We can not take sin casually as though there is no consequence. We cannot pretend to walk with Him and cling to sin.

The Scripture says, "If we walk in the light, as He is in the light…" we will become quickly aware of our sin and confess it to Him; and, the blood of Jesus Christ His Son will keep on cleansing us from our sin. (I John 1:5-7)

Has God put His finger on a specific sin in your life? Agree with Him, confess your need for forgiveness and the blood of Jesus will cleanse you.

Father,
It is a privilege to call You Father. I am amazed that You love me and accept me as Your own. I am in awe that You, the holy God of the universe, would call me Your child.
You are perfectly holy and eternally righteous. I confess my sinfulness and step into the light of Your holiness.

In Jesus' Name, I approach Your holy throne. Amen