The following is an excerpt from our daily devotional series Seven Conditions for Answered Prayer.

The third characteristic of prayer is that we may approach God boldly, without condemnation, and yet many times we are not able to do so. Psalm 66:18 says, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear [me].” To “regard iniquity in my heart” means that I come to God, but I’m conscious of something in my heart that condemns me. When I try to approach God with faith, either my conscience or Satan reminds me that something is not right.

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Perhaps it is a sin that hasn’t been confessed. If that’s the case, and I truly desire freedom and free access to God’s presence, there are ample scriptural promises to bring release to my heart and the restoration of full assurance of God’s favor and His presence. It is accomplished by faith, because “if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)

However – and this is very important – if it has been confessed and I still “feel” far from God, it is most likely that I am believing a lie from Satan, who always wants to accuse me and confuse me about my rights (by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ) to enjoy God’s presence and be conscious of His favor as my loving God and Father.

So, you and I can settle the sin issue quickly as we confess, repent, and trust God for the forgiveness and the cleansing that He has promised. After that, do not go on worrying about your sin, because if you remain sin-conscious as you pray, you will be entertaining thoughts directly contrary to many promises of God. And where do they come from? They come from Satan who wants you and me to believe lies about God, not ever the truth.

But you know what the psalmist goes on to say in Psalm 66:19-20? “But certainly God has heard me; He has attended to the voice of my prayer. Blessed be God, who has not turned away my prayer, nor His mercy from me.” How do I know He has heard me? Because I have ceased harboring “iniquity in my heart.” Now, speaking as a New Testament believer, I have come in the name of Jesus. I have come with praise and thanksgiving, and, in God’s grace, I am not condemned. The Bible says, “if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things.” (1 John 3:20) We don’t have to keep anything from God. We have to be open, honest, and sincere with Him, and confess every transgression, fault, and short-coming. (He knows everything about us anyway.) But then, when everything has been confessed, accept complete forgiveness and complete cleansing, and know that God will never remember it or hold it against us anymore. Then we can come without condemnation.

1 Timothy 2:8 speaks about prayer. “I desire therefore that the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting.” We’ve got to get rid of those dark inner emotions and attitudes that hinder our access. We’ve got to get rid of wrath and doubting. ”But let him ask [God] in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.” (James 1:6-8) The Bible says that if we doubt, we are condemned. See, we cannot come into the presence of God (and we need not come) with condemnation. We have to (and we may) dismiss the whole question of guilt and of every negative and wrong attitude concerning ourselves and concerning other people.

And we must come boldly. “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16) Remember it’s a “throne of grace.” It’s not justice we’re coming for. It is grace, that we may obtain mercy and find help in our time of need. We do not come on the basis of our merit. We come in the name of Jesus.

Hebrews 10:19 says we have “boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus.” So come to God with your prayers and without any condemnation. Do you know that the basic source of condemnation is self-righteousness? If I’ve got to justify myself, I will never do it to my own satisfaction. There must come a time when we lay aside every attempt to justify ourselves, and say, “I receive, by faith, the righteousness of Jesus Christ imputed to me.” By my faith in Him, according to the Word of God, I will not worry about my merit; I will not worry about my sin; I will  not parade my good deeds; I will not blush for my bad deeds.

No, we may come boldly. We are invited. You need not examine or analyze your own heart all the time to see if you are good enough. You know that the blood of Jesus has cleansed you from all sin, and now you enter boldly right to the throne and right into the holiest of all. That’s a glorious way of access.

       “Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience.” (Hebrews 10:22) An evil conscience will always take you from successful praying. You must allow the blood of Jesus to be applied to your heart and receive, with complete assurance, the fact that you are forgiven, that you are cleansed because of what Jesus has done at the Cross, and then come boldly into the presence of Almighty God.

 Points to Ponder:

• Do you ever have doubts about God’s interest in you? If so, let Scripture reinforce the “welcoming” aspect of the God to whom you pray. Add this verse to your list: “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:16) Note the invitation. We may come “boldly.”
• For victory in this area, we must understand the difference between regrets and condemnation. You may have regrets, but if you are a Christian, your sins are forgiven and you will never be condemned. God’s Word will help you learn the difference between the truth and Satan’s lies.
• Trust God, who gives us assurance that our confessed sins are gone forever. He said that He has chosen not to remember them (Isaiah 43:25); also, our sins have been “cast into the depths of the sea” (Micah 7:19); and finally, note Psalm 103:12, where God says He has separated us from our sins “As far as the east is from the west …” All of these are part of the great promises God gives His children.

Complete Devotional in PDF Format Click Here!

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(Derek Prince was one of the founders of Intercessors for America. Photo Credit: doidam10 via Canva Teams)