Freedom and Confidence
Scripture Reading — Ephesians 3:12-13
In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.
Ephesians 3:12
In a society that prizes self-confidence and a positive self-image, we might be tempted to think that our relationship with God should make a priority of focusing on ourselves, our own needs, and our sense of self-worth.
But consider what happens when self-assured people pray to God. People who believe their relationship with God is based in their own merit and interests will find prayer an empty ritual. They tend to see little need for prayer, and they don’t see the results they expect. Prayers offered in our own strength rise no higher than the roof over our heads.
But as believers in Christ, we must always remember what God has accomplished for us through Jesus. The key to effective prayer is to turn away from a trust in our own selves to a total reliance on our Savior.
“In [Jesus Christ] and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.” Jesus is the mediator of our salvation and of all other dimensions of our relationship to God. Our confidence is based on what Christ has accomplished! Even when we struggle with doubt and sin, through Christ we have access to God the Father. Paul eloquently describes that assurance in Romans 8:37-39: we, through Christ, are “more than conquerors,” and nothing can “separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Thank you, Lord, for giving us hope and confidence that you hear us and care for us. Help us to trust not in ourselves but in Jesus, who made our salvation possible. Amen.
About the author — Peter Borgdorff
Dr. Peter Borgdorff has been a pastor and administrator in the Christian Reformed Church for 40 years, most recently serving as executive director till his retirement in 2006. He and his wife, Janet, have five children and 14 grandchildren.
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