God's Promises Give Us the Courage to Approach Him in Prayer

Note from today’s Bible reading: 2 Samuel 7; 1 Chronicles 17; Psalm 25; 29; 33

When David told the prophet Nathan of his plans to build a house for the ark of God, Nathan initially told him, “Do all that is in your heart, for God is with you” (1 Chronicles 17:2). Yet this was not God’s plan; so the Lord told the prophet to tell David he was not to do this (1 Chronicles 17:4).

However, God was not rejecting David as He had Saul. In fact, He said that one of David’s sons would build a house for Him (1 Chronicles 17:12). Moreover, the Lord established a covenant with David to “establish [the] throne” of one of his descendants “forever” (1 Chronicles 17:12).

In response, David offered a prayer of thanksgiving and praise to God. Notice one of the statements from his prayer: “For You, O God, have revealed to Your servant that You will build for him a house; therefore Your servant has found courage to pray before You” (1 Chronicles 17:25).

Hearing and believing God’s promises gave David the courage to approach Him in prayer. In the same way, the great promises that the Lord has made for us show us that He cares and motivates us to “[cast] all [our] anxiety on Him, because He cares for [us]” (1 Peter 5:7).

So remember that God’s promises give us the courage to approach Him in prayer. Let us recognize His goodness and His love for us. Knowing this, let us never hesitate to bow before Him and “let [our] requests be made known to [Him]” (Philippians 4:6).