King Louis XIV didn’t trust the nobility of France, so he built his magnificent palace, Versailles, outside Paris where he could keep an eye on them. They all moved there to be near the king, even though it meant leaving their estates for something akin to dormitory rooms. Nothing was more important than proximity to the Sun King.

Everything at Versailles operated by royal rules of etiquette based on Louis’ daily routine. Each morning at 7:30, an aide would enter the king’s bedroom and stand silently and reverently by the bedside for a half-hour before finally saying, “Sire, it is time.” When the king opened his eyes, word spread through the palace, the curtains were opened, and a delegation of observers were ushered in to see the king washed and shaved. Shortly afterward another group of about a hundred observers—princes, statesmen, and noblemen—were allowed to watch the king being dressed for the day. Many of the noblemen longed to be included in that group but lived in perpetual disappointment because their turn never came.

At 10 a.m., the king and his entourage left the private apartments and proceeded through the Hall of Mirrors where crowds watched Louis enter the Royal Chapel. A new musical composition was written every day and performed for his devotions. Then came affairs of state, leisure, and the other royal routines of the day, until the Grand Public Supper at 10 p.m., in which selected crowds were allowed to stand behind railings as the king dined.

Only one thing was paramount to the residents of Versailles—how close they could be at any moment to the king. A person’s rank, importance, power, success, and contentment were based entirely on physical proximity to the Sun King.

It all sounds ridiculous, doesn’t it? Looking back from our perspective, we can’t help wondering why so many people could become spellbound by pomp and power. Yet somewhere within each of us there’s a yearning to be close to a king. Our security rests in knowing there is a sovereign somewhere with power and wealth who can care for us, keep us safe, and guarantee us a wonderful future.

The Sun King could never do that, but I know a King who can. We have a King who outshines the sun, and He graciously invites us into His presence at any time through the miracle-medium of prayer. When we accept this invitation, we discover four wonderful layers of blessing beyond anything the nobility of Versailles could imagine.

God’s Presence

The greatest thing about prayer is the presence of God. In fact, the chief purpose of prayer is recognizing the presence of our King and being with Him. When we pray, we aren’t talking into the air. We’re not flinging thoughts heavenward into the clouds. We’re not engaging in mental self-talk. We are coming into the presence of a real King for companionship, communion, and fellowship. In Deuteronomy 4:7, Moses told the Israelites, “What other nation is so great as to have their gods near them the way the Lord our God is near us whenever we pray to him?” (NIV)

It’s true that God is omnipresent—He fills heaven and earth and occupies all of space and time. Yet in terms of personal nearness, it’s in prayer we draw near to God in an exclusive way.

Susie Larson wrote of a day when she was out of sorts, having been plagued by insomnia. Her children were sick and crabby, and Susie was irritable and exhausted. Passing a mirror, she saw her reflection and cringed at the attitude she saw on her face. But, she later wrote, “Amidst the temptation to loathe myself and cringe at my weakness, I put my foot down and prayed: ‘Lord, even here, even now, I belong to You. And despite my bleary eyes and messy hair, I’m still Your treasure—a spoken-for heir of God. This is true because You say it’s true… Thank You.’”

Finishing her prayer, Susie felt an inner nudge to open her Bible to 2 Corinthians 4:13, and there she read: “It is written: ‘I believed; therefore I have spoken.’ Since we have that same spirit of faith, we also believe and therefore speak” (NIV).

Susie realized everything depended not on her feelings or circumstances but on hearing God’s voice, gripping His truth, speaking forth His Word, trusting it, proclaiming it, and taking a stand on what He has said. That reminder was a gentle conversation between King and subject, between Father and daughter, and she felt God’s presence impart the needed strength.^[1]

God’s Ear

As Susie’s story indicates, when we have God’s presence, we also have His ear. This may sound like an unusual Bible study topic, but have you ever thought of looking up what the Bible says about God’s ear? You’ll find a lot of references, such as…

• “Incline Your ear, O Lord, and hear; open Your eyes, O Lord, and see” (2 Kings 19:16).
• “Please let Your ear be attentive and Your eyes open, that You may hear the prayer of Your servant which I pray before You now, day and night (Nehemiah 1:6).
• “In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried out to my God; He heard my voice from His temple, and my cry came before Him, even to His ears” (Psalm 18:6).
• “He who planted the ear, shall He not hear? He who formed the eye, shall He not see?” (Psalm 94:9)
• “Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; nor His ear heavy, that it cannot hear” (Isaiah 59:1).
• “For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their prayers.” (1 Peter 3:12).

As we get older, doctors include auditory tests in our annual physical exams to see if we’re suffering from loss of hearing, and sometimes we need hearing aids. But God’s ear never misses a sound. He hears the soft breathing of a sleeping baby, the weeping of a troubled teen, the cry of an anguished parent, the whisper of a bedtime prayer, the sigh of a weary worker, and praises from the lips of His worshipers. You have the King’s keen ear, and He hears every sound, even the unspoken pleas of your heart.

God’s Care

But the wonder of prayer doesn’t stop there. We can have another’s presence and ear, but what if that person doesn’t care about us? We have a King who is near, who hears, and who deeply cares.

When tough times come, we’re tempted to forget God’s over-watching care. Even the disciples cried, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?” (Mark 4:38) Martha of Bethany once asked Jesus, “Lord, do You not care…?” (Luke 10:40) But we needn’t worry about that. The great biblical hero Job, in the midst of his sufferings, said in prayer, “Your care has preserved my spirit” (Job 10:12). That’s exactly what happens to us as we pray. The King cares for us, and that preserves our spirits when nothing else will. He tells us to cast all our cares on Him, “for He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7).

God’s Work on Our Behalf

When we accept the King’s invitation to pray, we come into His presence, have His ear, and enjoy His care. But if it stopped there, we’d still be in trouble. Some people truly care for us, but they can’t really help us. Not our King! He knows how to work on our behalf, and He does so as we pray. James 5:16 says, “The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.”

Some years ago, I started keeping a journal and writing down my prayer requests, and over the years it’s thrilling to look back and to see what God has done in my life in response to my prayers. Again and again, I see how God eventually answered requests I had almost forgotten about. Sometimes the answers have been so specific I’ve been amazed; other times the answers come in forms I had not expected.

Seeing repeated answers to prayer is one of the greatest motivations for continued prayer. God works in our lives. He works all things for our good. He works everything into a pattern that conforms with the purpose of His will. And He does it as we pray.

We have His presence, His ear, His care, and His powerful working in our lives. So accept the King’s standing invitation and come into His palace of prayer whenever you’d like. He’s even available right now.

Citations:

¹ Susie Larson, Your Powerful Prayers (Bloomington, MN: Bethany House, 2016).