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What’s the one prayer that is spoken every day, every hour, every minute, even now?
It’s a simple but potent prayer tucked into the book of Revelation.
The beloved disciple, John, finds himself trapped on the island of Patmos. He blinks and suddenly sees an open door. A familiar voice beckons, “Come up here” (Revelation 4:1). Lifted and enlivened by the Spirit, John finds himself in the holy throne room in all its wild beauty.
Jewel tones kaleidoscope as elders bow. Crowns tumble to the ground. Crackles of thunder and shards of lightning pierce the air. With seven lamps ablaze, four mysterious winged creatures utter the never-ending prayer.
Day and night they never stop saying:
Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come. — Revelation 4:8
This is Heaven with the music cranked, the dial turned all the way up to 11, praying and worshipping the One who was, and is, and is about to arrive.
The elders soon join the chorus of prayer:
You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for You created all things, and by Your will they were created, and have their being. — Revelation 4:11
Revelation 4 reveals that even when we lose perspective, God never does.
Every day, we have a choice to make.
Like those elders, will we lay all that we have, all that we are before Him in prayer?
Will we come before the throne to acknowledge God in fullness? Will we approach with our fears and doubts and pains and losses and mourning and deep grief?
Like the elders, when we lay flat, arms and hands wide open before God in prayer, we rise up with an extravagant hope-filled perspective, based on the character and competency of God, not on what we see or don’t see in earthly realms.
You see, a holy perspective is a hopeful perspective.
When you lay yourself before the One who holds all things together in prayer, you discover He holds you together.
When you lay yourself before the One who is in control through prayer, you can trust Him when everything feels out of control.
When you lay yourself before the One who sits on the throne in prayer, you discover the divine cannot be confined, and there’s nothing in your life God cannot redeem.
Unlike us, who have limited perspective, God sees all things, and God knows all things.
He’s in the business of renewing all things, redeeming all things, reconciles all things, and making all things right.
The problem……. is most of us pass by the invitation of verse 2.
To: Come. Up. Here.
To lay all we are and all we have before the throne to gain God’s perspective. To join the never-ending prayer that swirls the throne room.
On far too many days, I’ve passed by the holy invitation. For me, the pandemic has been an emotional, relational, health, and financial horrorcoaster.
We’ve had far too many friends laid off, lose their businesses, die of the virus, and for those who survived, some are long-haulers, still battling mysterious, lingering health issues.
Sometimes the waves of the loss and pain were so intense, I lost perspective and fell into despair.
So I turned to the news to find hope.
Terrible idea. 🙂
I felt like a cork bobbing in the ocean during a storm. A wave would come and lift me. I could see the shore. Then I’d fall down, tossed to and fro.
That’s when I rediscovered the One who has perspective when we lose it is still sitting on that throne.
The invitation to “Come up here” is available to each of us every moment.
So I’ve started imagining myself before the throne saying, Jesus, here is my pain, here is my loss, here is my confusion, here is my despair. I lay it before you. Jesus, help me to see what you see.
Because there’s something about a heavenly perspective that RIGHT SIZES earthly concerns.
Through the Holy Spirit, do you know what I sensed Jesus say?
I am with you even in this, and through this, I am growing you.
You see, there’s something about bringing our whole selves before the throne of God, joining in the never-ending prayer that frees us, heals us, and fills us with extravagant hope.
Jesus wants you to see what He sees. The Spirit invites you right now, “Come Up Here!”
Original excerpt from Margaret Feinberg from her Bible Study, Revelation: Extravagant Hope, copyright, Margaret Feinberg.
Written for FaithGateway by Margaret Feinberg, a beloved Bible teacher, popular speaker and author of the brand new Revelation: Extravagant Hope six-session DVD Bible study and workbook.
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Your Turn
What are you bringing into the Throne Room with you? Where could you use a little hope today? Come share on our blog!
