Presenting the Covenant Before the Throne
"Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." — Hebrews 4:16
Six Months Later
The threat was specific and credible. She had been warned by someone in a position to know that she was to be killed that week, and that the friend she was protecting would be killed in her hospital bed.
She could not leave. She would not leave.
And in the middle of that fear, the Holy Spirit spoke four words: "Child, remember the covenant."
She had forgotten. God had not. He had arranged the whole thing six months earlier, before the threat existed, before anyone could have known it was coming. No wonder the battle over making that covenant had been so fierce.
Peace flooded over her — the peace only Jesus Christ can give.
Then she knew exactly what she had to do.
The Hearing
She made her hospital rounds early, drove to the church, and arrived during the last half of the service. Afterward, when the pastor invited anyone who wished to pray to come forward, she went up and knelt, placing the notebook on the altar in front of her.
With tears running down her face she prayed silently: "Oh Lord, please regard your servants. You know that Satan desires to kill us..."
Before she could say any more she was permitted to see into the spirit world, and she found herself in the throne room of God. She heard the accuser standing before the Lord petitioning against them:
"I petition for your servants. The one is a traitor to me, and both have agreed to serve you even to the point of death. I don't believe them. They are lying. I want to prove that. Let my servants sacrifice them and you'll see just how shallow their commitments are."
"And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven... for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night." (Revelation 12:10)
Presenting the Document
Then the Lord addressed her directly: "Woman, what do you have to say to this petition?"
She held out the notebook.
"Father, you know our hearts. I wish to present to you this covenant you made with us. We obeyed your command in making this covenant, and now I respectfully present it to you in the name of Jesus Christ your Son."
There was a long moment of silence.
Then she heard the Father turn and say: "You know that I always keep my covenants. I covenanted with these my servants to protect them from this attack by your servants. You cannot have their lives; your servants cannot attack them. I will keep my word. Depart from me."
She was instantly aware of her physical surroundings again, and one verse came to her with new force:
"Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace." (Hebrews 4:16)
What You Should Take From This
Do not take from this that you should expect a vision. Most believers never have one, and visions are not the point.
Take this: there is a real throne, a real accuser who petitions against you, and a God who keeps His word absolutely. You have standing to come boldly. And what you have agreed with God about is admissible.
You do not need to see it to use it.
Point to Ponder
She had forgotten the covenant. God had arranged it six months before the danger existed.
Verse to Remember
"Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." — Hebrews 4:16
Question to Consider
What has God already said to me that I have completely forgotten — and might need this year?
Today's Practice
Go back through your life and recover what God has said to you.
Old journals. Notes in the margins of your Bible. Cards people gave you. Things a pastor said that struck you at the time. Promptings you wrote down and never looked at again. Answers to prayer you have not thought about in years.
Write them all in one place, with dates where you have them.
Then take the most pressing situation in your life right now, and ask one question: "Father, have You already spoken to me about this and I have forgotten?"
And where you find something — bring it to Him. Not anxiously, and not as though He needed reminding. Present it, respectfully, in the name of Jesus Christ, and rest.
Prayer
Father, You know the end from the beginning. You have arranged things in my life whose purpose I will not understand for years.
Bring back to my memory what You have already said to me. I have forgotten most of it. I have written things down and never read them again. I have received clear answers and let them slip out of mind within a month.
Thank You that You forget nothing.
I come boldly to Your throne now, as You have permitted me to do — not on my own merit, but under the blood of Your Son. Where an accusation stands against me, answer it. Where You have covenanted with me, I present that covenant and I rest in it.
You always keep Your word. Let me live like someone who believes that. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
There is a real throne, a real accuser, and a God who keeps His word. You do not need a vision to use that.