O Lord, revive me according to Your justice.” ~Psalm 119:149
When I read this verse during my study of Psalm 119, the Lord reminded me of something that I had been learning through my study of Daniel. This week, we were asked to memorize Daniel 9:18-19: “O my God, incline Your ear and hear; open Your eyes and see our desolations, and the city which is called by Your name; for we do not present our supplications before You because of our righteous deeds, but because of Your great mercies. O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, listen and act! Do not delay for Your own sake, my God, for Your city and Your people are called by Your name.” Notice here that Daniel did not come to the Lord in prayer because of his righteous deeds, but because of the Lord’s great mercies.
It is not because of any righteousness of our own that we cry to Him. We should not expect Him to answer us because we are worthy of it, but because of His great mercy.
Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible puts it a hundred times better than I could:
“Not according to his own merits and deserts, or works of righteousness done by him, for the sake of which he did not present his supplications to God; nor according to his love to him, which often waxed cold, and he in a poor lukewarm frame of spirit; but according to the lovingkindness of God, which is always the same, and which is a great encouragement to faith and hope in prayer; that since God is gracious and merciful, kind and bountiful, plenteous in mercy, and ready to forgive, on a throne of grace, and full of love, yea, love itself, invariably the same, he will hear, and saints shall find grace and mercy to help them in time of need”
1 John 4:10 adds, “In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” It is not because we have loved God; indeed our love is so unfaithful that it merits rejection and death. But God’s love is so great toward us that He hears our cries and answers our prayers.
We can boldly approach the throne of grace not because we have earned the right, but because we have a God who loves to bestow His gifts upon His children. As Ephesians 3:12 says, “In Him and through faith in Him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.” It is by Jesus Christ’s sacrifice on the cross that we can approach God with freedom and confidence. Prayer is not a right, but a gift.
Our righteous works are as filthy rags. By their merits, we deserve nothing. We have no strength in and of ourselves. Rather, through our prayers we must throw ourselves down before God, pleading for His undeserved mercies.
Remember as you come before the thrown of grace today, that you have no right to be there. It is only by God’s grace and through His mercies that you have the privilege of speaking to the King of kings and Lord of lords. Let this knowledge transform your prayers, taking the focus off of you and onto Him.
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