“let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching” (Hebrews 10:22-25).
To whom great privileges have been granted, great responsibilities have been given.
What practical value is the privilege of having unfettered access to the Throne room of heaven (Hebrews 10:19-21), if you don’t pray or do not pray with boldness?
The privileges enjoyed by every Christian result in great, practical responsibilities. Prayer which is appropriate to the new and living way Jesus opened/consecrated for us by His blood is both a privilege and a responsibility. The earnest exhortation (in bold print above) is to seize upon the privilege of prayer and draw near to God’s throne in boldness, knowing with utter certainty that as a Christian—whose conscience has been cleansed when he was baptized into Christ (1 Peter 3:21-22)—your prayers are heard and answered by God.
In practical terms, there is little, if any, difference between a person who cannot read and a person who can read but doesn’t. In like manner, there is little, if any, difference between a non-Christian who does not have access to God in prayer and a Christian who does not pray.
“Let us” seize the responsibilities inherent in our privileges.
