Verse from Hebrews

“有名字登记在天上众长子的教会，有审判众人的神，有被成全的义人的灵魂，”
‭‭希伯来书‬ ‭12:23‬ ‭

“to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the Judge of all, to the spirits of the righteous made perfect,”
‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭12:23‬ ‭

In the Jewish temple, a curtain sixty feet high and thirty feet wide separated the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place. Anyone who entered the Most Holy Place was entering into God’s holy presence. Only the High Priest—and only once a year on the Day of Atonement and after he had meticulously cleansed himself—could enter the Most Holy Place; anyone else would die (see Ex. 26:31–33; Lev. 16).

At the moment Jesus died as payment for our sin, “the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom” (Matt. 27:51), signifying that God had taken down the wall that separated us from Him. Because of Christ’s sacrifice, “we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body” (Heb. 10:19–20). Through Christ, we now “have access to the Father” (Eph. 2:18).

Today, you and I can come straight to God with confidence, knowing that Jesus’s sacrifice has torn down the barrier between us and God (Heb. 12:22–23). Each of us can talk to God any time we want, and hear from Him directly when we read His Word. We enjoy a direct access that the Israelites could only dream of. May we never take it for granted and cherish this awesome privilege of coming to the Father as His beloved children every day.

Reflect on what direct access to the Father means to you. How does this affect your view of prayer? Sim Kay Tee