Beggars

Dear Boys and Girls,

Cole nearly laughed with relief when he saw the large house in the distance. His mouth was parched, and his knees kept buckling. He put his hand on Tex’s back for a moment to steady himself, took a deep breath, and made his way toward the house. How long had he been lost in the woods? He didn’t know. What had begun as a hike on a steep, narrow trail had ended in hours of wandering. Probably by now someone was looking for him. Tex’s tongue hung out of his mouth. He, too, was parched and could barely drag his paws another step.

Cole knocked hesitantly. He did not know what kind of reception he would receive. He did not know if the people living here were kind, or if they would not want to be bothered. He did not even know if they were trustworthy, but Cole had no choice. The phone he had when he began the hike had dropped into the lake earlier in the afternoon. He would just ask if he could take a few sips from the faucet at the back of the house and call his parents.

Cole waited. Was anyone going to come to the door? He knocked harder. He was at the mercy of whoever lived here—he had nothing to give them or pay them, and he did not know if they wanted to help him or not, but he could not go away either. He needed the drink and the help too much to leave. The waiting seemed very long, but when the door did finally creak open, Cole almost cried with relief. Someone had answered his knock!

Cole was a bit like a beggar—someone needing and asking something without being able to pay. A beggar cannot claim to be worthy of what he is asking for, either. Beggars are often in great need. Think of beggars in the Bible—Bartimaeus would not stop calling even though the people told him to be quiet; the lepers outside the city that was besieged were so desperate that they decided to beg for food at the camp of the enemy (when they arrived there, the enemy had already fled). They have no other choice; they cannot leave. They do not feel worthy of receiving anything, but they need it so much.

There are beggars who do not ask for money or food or drink. Instead, they ask for God and His grace. These beggars are people who beg of the Lord. They do not know how great their need is until the Lord shows them, and now, they go to Him again and again. They realize that if they ever receive an answer, it is through God’s mercy and goodness and not because they deserve it; they deserve quite the opposite. While they are begging the Lord to be merciful to them, they know that the Lord would be just if He would cast them away instead. Why do they not go away then? They need His mercy too much, and they know that the Lord is ABLE to provide it, even when they do not know if He WILL.

The Lord is able to save them from their sins through Jesus Christ, and He is able to answer all their prayers. He is able to be their God in this life and for eternity. The woman in the Bible who cried after the Lord Jesus did not stop either, even when He told her that He had not come for dogs. She had nowhere else to go. These people would like just a little place in that line of beggars who are waiting at the throne of grace—even if they are the very, very last one. What a wonder it is to them if they MAY wait in that beggar’s line and are not yet sent away.

The beggar does resemble them that pray

To God for mercy, and will take no nay

But wait, and count that all His hard gainsays

Are nothing else but fatherly delay;

Then imitate him, praying souls, and cry:

There’s nothing like to importunity.

— John Bunyan

Beggars at God’s throne…what are they doing? They are praying. They do not look like real beggars, dressed in rags with a cup in their hand. They look like everyone else, but their heart has a great need. Sometimes they have many needs, and they may bring them all to the Lord. They ask the Lord to care for them and keep them from danger and from sin; they ask the Lord to convert, forgive, be with, guide, and help not only themselves but also their family members and other loved ones. They ask the Lord for His will and not their own will in their lives; above all, they go back to the Lord again and again and beg Him, “Lord, wilt Thou grant me that only comfort in life and in death—to belong to Thee?”

Who may come to this throne of grace to beg? Anyone—no one is turned away. Ask the Lord to make you a true beggar, such as it says in Psalm 130, “Lord, hear my voice: let Thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications.”

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