The power of prayer is often preached. Often praised. Often suggested.

I would point out, however, the true depth of what it means, is hardly realized.

God tells us we have a seat at the throne to bring our requests to Him. At the throne. Not at a distance. Not phoning it in. He says, and I’m paraphrasing here, “Come up here. Come into My presence. Bring your cares here. Where I am.”

Heb 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

Let’s first establish where God is. He is omnipresent so He is everywhere, but He does have a throne in the third heaven, and that’s where the true worship happens. In Revelation 4, John describes what he saw when he was called up to the third heaven. You should read it sometime. It’s quite an overwhelming sight of glory and majesty to even imagine.

If you’re wondering about the third heaven and you thought your whole life there was only one heaven, I’ll break it down simply:

• First heaven: our livable area, where we live and breathe.
• Second heaven: what we commonly think of as space, where celestial beings live.
• Third heaven: where God reigns on His throne, and Jesus is at His right hand.

When God says to come to the throne, He means the third heaven. Let’s wrap our brains around that for a minute. If you read Revelation 4, you understand the incomprehensible beauty of God’s throne. And He asked me to come there, to His throne, to present my prayers to Him.

Let me be clear. I don’t know how all this really looks from God’s point of view. But as I started learning the power of prayer, I knew prayer at God’s throne was something I wanted to do more often. When I first tried to think in these terms, I thought that maybe when I became a born-again believer, I received a little stool with my name on it. Right there at the throne was my little stool. Oh, how foolish! I quickly changed the stool in my mind to a pillow. Let’s be honest. If I am going to be at the throne of God, you can bet I’ll be prostrate, bowing down, pouring out my heart to Him in worship. I will not be calmly sitting on a stool with no ugly tears on my face. Regardless of the exact seat, I like to believe God reserved a spot for me there. It’s ready for me to use anytime I want. Anytime I need to bring my prayers to the Father.

He says we can ask: Mat 7:7 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: 

He says He hears: Pro 15:29 The LORD is far from the wicked: but he heareth the prayer of the righteous. 

He says to come often: Php 4:6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

Oh, what a beautiful, wonderful, and glorious thought! I know I can enter into the throne room. I know I can take my place in worship at His throne. I know I can pour out my prayers to Him, He will hear them, and He will answer them. Amen!

Wait…gut check moment. Am I worthy to come to this throne? No. Absolutely not! But brothers and sisters, let’s believe The Scarlet Letters. Let’s believe Him when He says to come boldly. To come with confidence. We do not come to the throne because we are good. We come because He is good.

With this in mind, let’s take our prayers to another level. Let’s bring them to the throne of God. Let’s lay them at His feet, where true healing, true cleansing, true repentance, and true deliverance can take place.

Let us not be afraid to come boldly to His throne. He’s invited us to come often, so let’s do just that. What we definitely don’t want is for Him to look out from His beautiful throne, land His eyes on our prayer pillows, and see them empty.

Fully immersed in The Scarlet Letters.