“Esther put on her royal robes and stood in the inner court of the king’s palace. . . . When the king saw Esther the queen standing in the court, she obtained favor in his sight; and the king extended to Esther the golden scepter. . .” (Esther 5:1-2).
Esther gives us a picture of our approachability to the throne room of the King. She was not permitted to come to the king’s chambers unless he had called for her. She dared to do so—only on the basis of the need and her relationship with the king. He extended the scepter to her and accepted her into his presence.
The throne room is the innermost dwelling of the king, where only those who are his favored can approach. Throughout the Bible, God is pictured as a King, seated on a throne. “The Lord is in His holy temple; the Lord’s throne is in heaven” (Ps 11:4). The picture is one of distance from the King. God’s position on the throne is lofty and exalted, far above and beyond human capacity and comprehension. How can we dare approach the throne room of one so revered and exalted?
Yet God in all His glory bids us to approach Him, to enter the throne room, and to remain in His presence. He smiles upon us and lovingly calls us, “Come on in!” Through our identification with Jesus, we have the right of access to the throne room of the King of Kings. God our King has given us permission to access His throne room—His holy presence—through the blood of Jesus Christ. He has extended His scepter to us. Not only are we permitted in the throne room; we have the privilege of a personal audience with the King.
Amy Carmichael illustrates this truth in the way that she received leadings from God— through the special enlivening of Scripture in what she called a “durbar,” an Indian word for a special personal audience with a high official, which she related to the Hebrew word “dabar,” to speak a word:
“When reading your Bible, have you not often noticed that some word has shone out in a new, direct, clear way to you? It has been as though you have never read it before. You cannot explain the vivid freshness, the life, in it, the extraordinary way it has leapt to your eye—to your heart. It just was so. That was the ‘durbar’; you were in the very presence of your King at that moment. He was speaking to you. His word was spirit and life.
This is what is sometimes called today a “rhema,” a special personal word from God. We have access to a personal word from the Throne of Heaven.
Chrysostom pictured entering the inner chamber in prayer (Matt 6:6) as a palace: “When you pray, it is as if you were entering into a palace—not a palace on earth, but far more awesome, a palace in heaven. When you enter there, you do so with complete attentiveness and fitting respect. For in the houses of kings all turmoil is set aside, and silence reigns. Yet here you are being joined by choirs of angels. You are in communion with archangels and singing with the seraphim, who sing with great aware their spiritual hymns and sacred songs to God, the Lord of all.”
John MacMillan recounts that “President Chiang-Kai-shek [of China] spent an hour in prayer each morning. . . .When the President went to his prayer room, he dressed himself in his robes of state, saying that he was having an audience with the King of kings, and it was becoming to render Him due honor.” We too have an audience with the King of kings!
Excerpted and adapted from Come Up Higher, available at www.paulkingministries.com
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