Remember that the privileged access you have to the Father came through Jesus the Son. What a marvelous path Jesus has paved for sinners to call upon the Holy One with confidence (see Hebrews 4:16). 

I don’t think I’ve ever met a Christian who was completely satisfied with his prayer life. You might know what it’s like: you try to pray, but it feels as if the words disintegrate before hitting the ceiling, and you start to wonder, “Is God listening, or am I talking to myself?” Then there’s that awful sluggishness. We try to stay up and pray, but like the disciples, no sooner do we shut our eyes and begin, “Dear Lord,” before the words hit us like a Benadryl. Or we might find ourselves distracted by tomorrow’s cares, and what begins as a petition soon becomes a mental conversation with a coworker. Alas, discouragement sets in: Why am I so bad at praying?
The truth is, we often make things harder than they need to be. Think of prayer as an exercise. You’re not always going to feel like praying, and some workouts are more satisfying than others. In exercise, consistency yields results, but you need to make sure you have proper form and realistic expectations. Here are a few simple tips for strengthening the muscle of prayer.
Repent
First, repent. God isn’t interested in pretend petitions that serve as attempts to cover rebellious hearts. It’s no coincidence that before Jesus taught His disciples the Lord’s Prayer in the Sermon on the Mount, He gave a series of instructions on how not to pray. To summarize, Jesus warned against being hypocritical and being superstitious (Matt. 6:5–8).
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Amillennials like myself have good reasons for great hope, a hope that fuels our passion in the daily hours. We aren’t defeatist, disengaged, and doleful. We smile in the light of Christ’s glorious victory and look expectantly, with the rest of Christendom, to his second coming.

Defeatist. Disengaged. Doleful. That’s a caricature of what theologians call amillennials.[1] But amillennials, I argue, actually have a wonderful hope to treasure. This isn’t an article meant to argue for a position. It’s meant to correct a misunderstanding out there and encourage the global church to rally around its one true passion: the return (whenever it may come) of Jesus Christ our Lord.
The Big Three
Without getting into great detail or exegetical intricacies, there are three common positions on the end times (eschatology).[2] Premillennials believe that Christ is going to return before (pre) a one thousand year period (or at least a long period of time; Rev. 20:6) in which we rule with him before the final judgment. Postmillennials believe that Christ will come after (post) a thousand year period, during which the church will grow in prominence and influence in the world. Amillennials believe that we’re currently in the end times right now, and that we’ll continue suffering with Christ until he comes again at the end of time for the final judgment.[3] Given that summary, it seems clear why the amillennial caricature emerged. Christ isn’t coming back to reign? Defeatist. We aren’t called to take over and influence culture, bringing heaven on earth? Disengaged. We aren’t waiting for an imminent return of Jesus so that we can reign with him? Doleful. Amillennials can seem stiff, joyless, and removed.
Reasons for Hope
But that isn’t the case. At least, it shouldn’t be the case for amillennials who know the good news of Scripture. Here are a few reasons why our hope should be blindingly bright. I’ll be drawing on the thought of Richard B. Gaffin Jr. And then I’ll end with something every Christian should be able to celebrate, despite our theological differences. Such celebration is critical in our times, when the unity of the church is needed to stand against the ravages of a hostile world.
Jesus Won and He Rules Now
We believe that Jesus’s victory over sin and Satan wasn’t provisional; it was definitive. The resurrection life that crowned his head when it emerged from the shadows of the tomb still shines. And it will shine until he comes again in glory. As Gaffin put it, “The entire period between his exaltation and return, not just some segment toward the close, is the period of Christ’s eschatological kingship, exercised undiminished throughout.”[4] Jesus won, and he rules. Smile. Nothing can threaten your King. You and I are now beacons of Christ’s reigning light. As the poet Malcolm Guite wrote,
We ourselves become his clouds of witnessAnd sing the waning darkness into light;His light in us, and ours in him concealed,Which all creation waits to see revealed.[5]
We Are Victors
If Christ began his reign in the resurrection, and our life is hidden with Christ on high (Col. 3:3), then we are victors with him. Regardless of how we may feel, we are victorious in Christ. Today. Right now. My father used to keep an old Joe Namath quote on the inside flap of his Bible: “When you win, nothing hurts.” Of course, that’s demonstrably untrue, but you have to smile at the sentiment. Eternal victory burns beyond earthly sorrow. If your eyes are fixed on Christ, they’re fixed on your Captain and King, and his victory over death should take your breath away.
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At the beginning of the book of Exodus it might appear that God’s covenant promises to Abraham have amounted to nothing.  However it is on the basis of these promises that God brings his people out of Egypt (2:23-25; 6:1-6).  In doing this he reveals his character as being one who is absolutely faithful to his covenant commitment.  He is the LORD, the covenant keeping God.

When I was a child I was fascinated by the film, “Escape from Alcatraz,” the story of one man’s bid for freedom from the famous island prison. More recently was the “Shawshank Redemption,” a film that is well worth watching. Perhaps the most loved film in this genre is “The Great Escape,” staring Steve McQueen, and based on a 1943 breakout from a Nazi prisoner-of-war camp.
In each of these films the escape depends on the ingenuity of the escapees and a certain amount of luck. The escape that we are looking at in this chapter is entirely different, it doesn’t depend on the escapees or on luck—God orchestrates the whole thing! As for the size of this escape, this is not about the freedom of just one individual or a small group but of a whole nation.
Introduction (Chapters 1-2)
In the last sermon we looked at the promise/covenant that God made with Abraham. There we claimed that this promise forms the backbone of the whole of the Old Testament. But as we read the opening chapters of Exodus we might think that God has forgotten this promise. Abraham’s descendants have not become a great nation (although they are multiplying in number) and they have not yet taken possession of the promised land, indeed they are not even in the promised land. As their stay in Egypt turned into slavery it must have seemed that fulfilment of God’s promises is becoming less and less likely.
Yet, as we noted in the last chapter, the circumstances that stand in opposition to God’s promises merely serve to underline that their fulfilment can only be achieved by the supernatural power of God. In the Exodus we will see the LORD free his helpless people with “an outstretched arm and mighty acts of judgement” (6:6).
The situation for the slaves goes from bad to worse when the Pharaoh orders the killing of all the Hebrew baby boys that are born. It is against this background that we read of someone who will have a special place in this story. Through the ministry of Moses God will redeem his people. In this sense the role he plays reveals and foreshadows the nature and work of Christ. When we read of how Moses was placed among the reeds, found by Pharaoh’s daughter, given to his mother to nurse, and later adopted by the princess we are witnessing the “overruling of the powers opposed to his kingdom so that they cannot hurt the one chosen to mediate God’s plan of salvation.”
Moses is given a Hebrew and an Egyptian upbringing in preparation for his ministry. The next stage of his preparation will be in Midian, where he takes refuge after killing an Egyptian. However, the end of chapter 2 brings us back to Egypt. Verse 23-25:
During that long period, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned in their slavery and cried out, and their cry for help because of their slavery went up to God. God heard their groaning and he remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob. So God looked on the Israelites and was concerned about them.
Of course, this does not mean that God ever forgot the covenant, “but rather that he is about to act on the basis of these promises.” What we are about to witness in the book of Exodus is God’s covenant in action.
I AM WHO I AM (Chapters 3-6)
God begins the rescue operation by appearing to Moses in a burning bush at Horeb (another name for Sinai). He is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (verse 6)—who in grace made his covenant with them. He is about to act upon that covenant by freeing his people from Egypt.
He commissions Moses: “So now, go, I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt” (verse 10).
But what if the Israelites do not believe Moses when he returns to Egypt and claims to be God’s chosen for this task? God reassures him on two grounds. Firstly, Moses will identify the God who has spoken to him as “I AM” and as the God of their fathers (3:14-16). Secondly, Moses is given some miraculous signs which he will be able to repeat to persuade the Israelites of his mission (4:1-9).
Let’s think about this divine name for a moment. “I AM WHO I AM.” This is what you are to say to the Israelites: “I AM has sent you” (verse 14). While this affirms his existence, much more it means his active presence. But with what sort of action does God affirm his active presence? Verses 16-20—he is the God, who delivers his people, who keeps his promises and who overthrows his enemies.
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