The Salahis have chutzpah, you have to give them that. Michaele and Tareq got their 15 minutes – plus – of fame last week when, much to the shame of the secret service, they managed to slink their way into the White House as “guests” at the State Dinner held in honor of the visiting Prime Minister of India. Presumptuous in the extreme.

I scoff at the Salahis’ insatiable need for attention, yet again, I admit I’m curious about – dare I say almost respect – their audacity. Vice President Joe Biden, who posed for pictures with the party crashers later explained, “I just assumed like everyone else they were guests. They acted like they knew everybody in the room, like they were my old buddies.”

In better days The White House used to be accessible to every citizen at almost any time. Abraham Lincoln supposedly set time aside every week to engage anyone who decided to walk through the door with a question, request or suggestion. No longer. These days visitors are suppose to pass through multiple layers of security, screenings, scanners and ID checks. Obviously something broke down at this event. But the point remains – It’s suppose to be nigh on impossible to get close to the President of the United States.

Thank God the King of the Universe doesn’t have such boundaries around him. The Bible says that God has an open air policy in the “Oval Office” of heaven. Once we’re given a pass – the Bible says that coming to God in “Jesus’ Name” gives us that access – we can waltz in like we own the place. We’re children of the King after all. We do “own the place” so to speak. We can come to God in prayer like party crashers approaching God as if we’re “old buddies.” Chutzpah is good in the posture of prayer!

There’s a famous picture of three year old John Kennedy Jr. playing under the Resolute Desk in the White House. His Father, John F. Kennedy is busy running the affairs of State, but at that moment Little John felt perfectly at home. The Cuban Missile Crisis threatened nuclear annihilation, but the child of the president played at the feet of his father. He didn’t “crash” the White House because it was his home.  

In my book “The Karma of Jesus” I speak about the amazing fringe benefits we enjoy by having a blood-line connection with God. We are his children with all rights and privileges! That’s the simple “audacity of hope” God offers us in his presence. We can pray confidently in his presence. We can “crash the party” because it’s ours by right. We can come confidently to God. The writer of Hebrews puts it this way:

“Now that we know what we have–Jesus, this great High Priest with ready access to God–let’s not let it slip through our fingers. We don’t have a priest who is out of touch with our reality. He’s been through weakness and testing, experienced it all–all but the sin. So let’s walk right up to him and get what he is so ready to give. Take the mercy, accept the help” (Hebrews 4:16 The Message).

Today, barge in like you own the place. Ask and ask boldly. You’re at home. Pray like you belong. You do!

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