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he story is told about a family whose father and two sons were soldiers in the Civil War. The father and one of the sons had been killed in battle. The surviving son was the only remaining male in the family so was granted a furlough from his commanding officer to seek a hearing from the President to request an exemption from military service.

When he arrived at the White House, he was told, \"You can\'t see the President. Don\'t you know there\'s a war on? He is a very busy man. Now go away, son! Get back out there and fight the Rebels like you\'re supposed to do.\"

Discouraged and disheartened the soldier went to a nearby park. While sitting there, he was approached by a young boy who came to him and said, \"Soldier, you look very unhappy. What\'s wrong?\"

Soon the soldier found himself sharing his plight with the lad. He told how his father and only brother had been killed in the war and, he, being the only man left in the family, was desperately needed back home to help his mother and sister with their farm.

\"Come with me,\" said the boy as he led the dejected soldier to the White House and entered through a rear door. None of the guards stopped them and even the high ranking officials stood to attention as this boy and the private passed through.

The soldier was amazed. Finally they came to the presidential office and the child, without even knocking, walked right in. There stood President Abraham Lincoln studying battle plans with his Secretary of State. Upon seeing the boy, President Lincoln looked up and said, \"What can I do for you, Todd?\"

You can\'t see the President. Don\'t
you know there\'s a war on?

The lad replied, \"Daddy, this soldier needs to talk to you.\"

And so the private presented his case to the President and was exempted from military service due to the hardship his family was under.

Have you ever reached a point of frustration where you were faced with a major crisis or a very painful situation and didn\'t know where to turn for help or direction? You may not have wanted an audience with the President, but would have given just about anything to get a hearing from God.

I certainly have felt that way.

Recently, I was struggling with a major work problem and before going to bed one night in exasperation picked up my bedside telephone and said in a clear voice (hoping nobody in the house would hear me), \"God, this is Dick here. I am desperate for some direction. Please help me!\"

Well, did God answer and help me?

No, but yes!

No, he didn\'t answer in an audible voice as I wish he would sometimes. If he did, I probably would fear I was hallucinating. You probably would think the same. But, yes, his answer and help is coming and here\'s why I am confident it will continue.

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First, the most amazing thing is that God is more approachable than any national or key religious leader. This is because God\'s Son, Jesus Christ, like the son in the soldier\'s story, has direct access to his Father and has opened the way for us to come to him. The Son brings us to God and says, \"Father, here is someone who needs to talk to you.\"

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This is made possible because of Christmas—the time when Jesus, the Son of God, chose to become a son of man so he could die on the cross to pay the penalty for our sin and thereby provide us with forgiveness, eternal life, and direct access to God.

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Second, I am confident that God will continue to help me because he promised he would. The Bible says, \"Because we have a great high priest … Jesus, the Son of God … let us then with confidence come boldly to God\'s throne of grace, that we may receive mercy, and grace to help in time of need.\"¹

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Because of what Jesus did for us when he came to earth, God has opened, as it were, the door to the \"White House of Heaven\" and invites us to come confidently to him with all our needs and requests.²

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Third, another reason I am confident God will continue to help me is because I know from past experience that when I ask for help that is in harmony with God\'s will for me and pray the right prayer, God always answers.

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The Son brings us to God and
says, \'Father, here is someone
who needs to talk to you.\'

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Sometimes we want God to take away symptoms because we are afraid or don\'t want to face the causes of our sicknesses or problems, or we pray with wrong motives. As James wrote in the Bible, You don\'t have because you don\'t ask. You ask but pray the wrong prayer!³

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Another major key to getting God\'s help is to pray in Jesus\' name. In some of his last instructions to his disciples Jesus stated six times that God the Father would give them whatever they asked in his name.

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It is a wonderful privilege to be able to go directly to God. But we go, not on the basis of anything we have ever done or have failed to do, but on the basis of what Jesus Christ has done for us. Our sin had separated us from a holy God, but because God loved us, he gave his only Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross to pay the penalty for our sin. In so doing Jesus bridged the gap between us and God. That\'s why we come to God in Jesus\' name. Because of Christmas, God himself now invites you and me to come boldly to him to receive mercy, forgiveness and grace to help in time of need.

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If you have never thanked Jesus for coming to earth to die for your sins, and asked God for forgiveness and help, why not pray and do that right now? This is the most precious Christmas gift you can or will ever receive.

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To help you do this click on the \"God\'s Invitation\" button link below for a special prayer to help you do this.

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1. Hebrews 4:14,16.
2. See Philippians 4:6.
3. James 4:3, (Paraphrase).

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