Obtaining Mercy

Call to Prayer 

Title: Obtaining Mercy

By: Daniel Peter

Date: 27.12.2023

Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrew 4:6 KJV

God’s heart posture towards us is not judgment. He desires that we obtain mercy. This was the idea behind the numerous sacrifices He demanded from the Israelites in the Old Testament, though they misunderstood it. For this reason, He said, “For I desire mercy and not sacrifice, And the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings (Hosea 6:6 NKJV)”.

Unlike the Old Testament, sacrifices for sin are no longer required from us in the New Testament (Heb. 10:18). However, there are corresponding actions God expects from us for us to walk in the mercy He has already given to us in Christ. The first of these actions is for us to come before God. Hebrew 4:6 says “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy...”. So when we practice coming before God, we’ll have access to mercy. We come before God by turning our consciousness to Him. When we are conscious of Him, we then acknowledge our faults. Scriptures said, “For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged (1 Cor. 11:31 KJV)”. We judge ourselves by simply acknowledging that we are wrong.

Such prayer of repentance when we acknowledge our faults before God must come from a broken spirit and a contrite heart (A heart that is truly sorry for his or her actions). Scriptures say “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise (Psalm 51:17). If we merely admit our faults without being broken, it’s a sign that we are not sincere, and we are trying to use grace as a cover-up for our wrong. But God knows the intent of the heart (Heb. 4:12), and it is written that “If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left (Heb. 10:26 NIV)”. A heart that is remorseful for his or her ill actions, and admits it to God, is the heart that receives mercy.

To further buttress the importance of coming before God, let’s consider the actions of Judas and Peter. They both sinned and were remorseful for their actions. Judas, however, did not have enough faith to come before God to receive mercy and he killed himself. However, Peter wasn’t just remorseful but was able to stand before Jesus and he received mercy. The sign that we know God is not just expressed when we yield in obedience to God, it also seen when we are able to get up after a fall and continue our walk with God.

Prayer Point

Let’s thank God for His word today. Let’s ask God to help us to be remorseful for our ill actions and He should help us have enough faith to come before Him to obtain mercy.