In Hebrews 13:20-21 we read, “Now the God of peace Who brought up from among the dead our Lord Jesus, the great Shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of an eternal covenant, equip you in every good work for the doing of His will, doing in us that which is well-pleasing in His sight through Jesus Christ, to Whom be the glory forever and ever, Amen.” This is a prayer of faith. This is also a great prayer in the Scriptures. The writer of Hebrews asked God, through the blood of the eternal covenant, to cause the resurrected Jesus Christ to dwell in us, so that we may do God’s will and accomplish the things well-pleasing to Him. This shows us that a prayer with faith, a great prayer, is one prayed by standing upon the eternal covenant of the Lord’s blood.
We need the faith to pray by clinging to the covenant. We must tell God by the covenant, “O God, I am praying to You by Your covenant.” This kind of prayer is powerful and effective. Our faith in the covenant will increase our boldness in prayer to God.
We must remember that we have the right to pray to God according to the covenant. We may ask God to act according to the covenant, but without faith the prayer will be useless. All that God has given us in the new covenant is deposited as one deposits money in the bank. If we believe, we have only to draw it out.
The new covenant was established with the blood of the Lord Jesus; therefore, the new covenant is secure and dependable. Our God restricts Himself in the covenant. God condescended to covenant with man because He wants man to believe Him and draw near to Him. God humbled Himself to make a covenant so that He can give man a bond to take hold of. Man can come to ask of Him by this bond. Therefore, we can boldly sing:
Standing on the promises I shall not fall,
List’ning ev’ry moment to the Spirit’s call.
Resting in my Savior as my All in all,
Standing on the promises of God.
Standing, standing,
Standing on the promises of God my Savior;
Standing, standing,
I’m standing on the promises of God.
(Hymns, #340)
Moreover, we joyfully proclaim:
How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith in His excellent word!
What more can He say than to you He hath said,
To you who for refuge to Jesus have fled?
(Hymns, #339)