Helping Yourself to Grace (1)

For the LORD God is a sun and shield;
The LORD will give grace and glory;
No good thing will He withhold
From those who walk uprightly. Psalm 84.11

Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4.16

Our time of need
The promise of Hebrews 4.16 is among the most precious of all Scripture: Grace is available for the asking, whatever our time of need. We have a standing invitation to seek the Lord for His Presence, favor, and strength, any time, any place, for any need. Amazing grace!

As we have seen, we need grace all the time. Our existence, health and wellbeing, salvation, growth in the Lord, ministries, witness, and perseverance in faith all depend on God’s grace. There isn’t a moment of our lives, waking or sleeping, when we don’t require the grace of God.

The fact that we so infrequently request God’s grace is a testimony to our churlishness in the face of God’s abundant lovingkindness. We take the grace of God for granted. It’s always been there, and it always will be there, because that’s just how God is. We know that He is kindly disposed to us, and He is always reminding us of this in His Word. So we just assume He’ll be there when we need Him, and we don’t consider it necessary always to be seeking more grace.

We presume on the goodness of God when we do not acknowledge our need for grace at every moment, and when we fail to call on His grace for all our times of need. Gratitude demands that we seek the Lord for grace. Our constant need of grace demands it. And God Himself commands it: “Pray without ceasing” (1 Thess. 5.17).

More grace is available to us – wave upon wave of grace! But to know such abounding grace, we must seek it more consistently.

Grace available and abounding
God’s grace abounds to us. And the amazing thing is that it can abound even more, when we get in the practice of seeking His grace rather than merely taking it for granted.

God wants to give us grace, so that He can be glorified in us. He wants to flow grace toward us in wave upon wave, so that we are filled, transformed, and overflow with grace to the people and the world around us.

How can we set our minds and hearts to seek more of God’s grace? What can we do to remind us to enter the throne room of Christ, seeking grace for all our times of need?

Making prayer a more vital part of our daily lives is a good place to begin. Set aside times to seek the Lord in prayer throughout the day, even if only for a few minutes. Pray before each task or meeting, or as you are going from one activity to the next. Thank God for the grace that has sustained you thus far during the day, and call on Him to supply abundant grace so that you may glorify Him in whatever is coming next. Praise Him for the evidence of His grace abounding in the world, and let the people and things around you serve as cues to more specific prayers for grace to help in your times of need. Find a prayer partner to meet with regularly, and to encourage one another in the work of prayer.

The more we bring prayer into the daily routines and activities of our lives, the more opportunities we’ll have for seeking God’s grace. And the more we will overcome the tendency to take grace for granted, and thus to fail in seeking it from Him Who is willing to give it, abundantly and abounding.

Singing the grace of God
Consider also that singing about the grace of God can remind you to seek Him for it. The sons of Korah sang of the grace of God in Psalm 84.11, celebrating the power of God’s grace both to enlighten our path and to guard us against all adversity. Singing the grace of God can be an effective way of growing to appreciate His grace more, and of seeking more of it.

For the remainder of our series on “Grace for Your Time of Need”, we’re going to take a closer look at some very familiar hymns. It is often the case, especially with familiar hymns, that we can underappreciate the depth, scope, and power of the lyrics and music. If we slow down, contemplate what we’re singing, and dwell within the words and melody, we may realize more of the Lord’s Presence – since He inhabits the praises of His people (Ps. 22.3) – and discover that our understanding and appreciation of the grace of God will grow. And this can lead us to seek more of the grace that we sing about with renewed insight and conviction.

Six hymns in particular will guide us more vividly and vitally into the Presence of God and His grace. We’re going to learn what’s so wonderful and matchless about the grace of Jesus. We’ll discover what makes it so amazing, and how and why grace pardons, cleanses, and renews us within. We’ll be humbled, and we will increase in love for God as we focus on the debt we owe to His grace. And we’ll learn to ask for more of Jesus – more of God’s grace – to show to the people around us.

I’m going to challenge you to sing each of these familiar hymns with renewed understanding, to sing them aloud during the day, with family or friends, and as part of your devotional times with the Lord. I want these songs to become welcome earworms, not so that they irritate you, but that they stimulate you frequently to a greater appreciation of God’s grace, and move you to seek it more consistently. 

Grace greater than all you could ever ask or think is waiting to be channeled your way. Seeking that grace for all your times of need is the key; and prayer and singing can unlock the way to an ever-increasing experience of the grace of God.

For reflection
1. Why do you suppose we tend to take the grace of God for granted?

2. How can you improve your prayers to include more direct pleading with God for grace to help in your times of need?

3. Why is singing a good way to engage the grace of God? How can singing engage us, soul and body, in seeking more of God’s grace?

Next Steps – Transformation: Begin asking God for grace for specific needs in all your prayers. Remember that grace describes God’s disposition toward us – He wants to give us grace; it consists in His communicating that disposition – His Word of grace in Scripture; and it issues in power from the Holy Spirit to do good works for God’s glory. Pray accordingly about your day, and throughout your day.

Grace flows from our relationship with Jesus Christ. The better we know Him, the more His grace will do its work in us. Our book, To Know Him, can help you in drawing closer to Jesus and increasing in Him. Order your copy by clicking here.

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.