The writer of the letter to the Hebrews exhorts and encourages Christians to draw near to God. “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.” (Hebrews 10:19-22).
Because of what the Lord Jesus Christ did for us on the Cross, and the fact that He is now appearing in heaven for us as our great High Priest, believers can confidently draw near to God. Access to God is available at any time during the day or night. God is fully aware that His people always need His presence. Remember His promise, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5).
In God’s presence there is a “Throne of Grace.” And the Scripture says, “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16). There is no getting away from it, every human being needs God’s mercy and His grace. Mercy is God not giving us what we rightly deserve. Grace, on the other hand, is “the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior.” (Titus 3:4).
James 3:8 says “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.” Through our worship and prayers we draw near to God. William MacDonald writes “We should draw near to God. We do this by prayer. We must come before Him in desperate, believing prayer, telling Him all that is on our hearts. As we thus approach Him, we find that He will draw near to us. We thought He would be far from us because of our carnality and worldliness, but when we draw near to Him, He forgives us and restores us.” (Believer’s Bible Commentary, p. 2237).
As MacDonald points out, we draw near to God by prayer. God works mightily through prayer. God is in heaven, and His children are here on earth. However, there is absolutely no distance in prayer. Prayer brings us right into God’s throne-room where we have a conversation with the Almighty who tells us “Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.” (Jeremiah 33:3). How awesome is the Christian’s God!
There is an important precondition in order to draw near to God that cannot be overlooked. The Scripture says, “let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith.”
(Hebrews 10:22). The Lord Jesus rebuked the scribes and Pharisees charging them saying, “You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said: “This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.” (Matthew 15:7,8). Let’s not be like them.
God being holy and righteous requires absolute sincerity in our approach into His divine presence. “You shall be holy, for I the Lord am Holy.” (1 Peter 1:16). Then there is “in full assurance of faith.” (Hebrews 10:22). This means having full confidence in the God of the Scriptures who is trustworthy. We can come to Him with absolute assurance that we will be accepted and blessed. Didn’t He say “Those who honor me I will honor.” (1 Samuel 2:30).
Let us therefore continue drawing near to God, as He continues drawing near to us.