I had an incredible “bucket-list” experience attending this year’s NBA All-Star Weekend in Charlotte – including the Athletes in Action All-Star Breakfast, the Saturday night festivities, and the game on Sunday.

What a blast to soak in the atmosphere and witness in-person the exciting event I’ve enjoyed watching on TV for as long as I can remember.

As a huge sports fan, my head was on a swivel while trying to spot recognizable players, coaches, and broadcasters. When I was fortunate enough to walk by someone famous, the big question became whether or not I should approach them.

For guys like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, he appeared too busy for me to interrupt. With Julius Peppers, I found myself intimidated by how big and powerful he is, so I kept my distance.

When seeing former Tarheel Antawn Jamison walk around the arena, I didn’t think I belonged in his presence as a Duke fan.

Distracted by something else when down on the court before the game, I realized Commissioner Adam Silver passed right by me…missing my chance for conversation with him.

After the game, I spotted Charles Barkley and legendary broadcaster Marv Albert. As much as I would have loved to talk to either of them, I believed they were in conversations with people they already knew and would have no interest in me as a stranger.

Don’t get me wrong, I still met some awesome people throughout the weekend. But, when I unpack my thought process in how I went about approaching everyone, I realize there’s a strong parallel to how we approach God and view prayer.

How often do we hesitate to “bother” Him because we think He’s too busy for us? Don’t we sometimes think He has more important things to tend to than our concerns? Do we view God’s largeness and power as too intimidating to get close to Him?

We also find ourselves ashamed of our past or still stuck in our ways, so we don’t feel like we belong in His presence. There are other times that God wants us to see what He’s doing and join Him, but our eyes are focused elsewhere and we’re distracted by other things.

Some of us who don’t know God are afraid to turn to Him because we falsely believe He has no interest in us since we’re a stranger.

The good news today is we don’t have to wonder or question if we should approach God. He wants to spend time with us, communicate with us, and desires for us to know Him deeply.

When we surrender to Jesus, the Bible clearly explains that we have the privilege of approaching God with confidence and there’s no need for any kind of hesitation or lame excuse not to enjoy His presence.

Hebrews 4:16 (AMP) tells us, “Therefore let us [with privilege] approach the throne of grace [that is, the throne of God’s gracious favor] with confidence and without fear, so that we may receive mercy [for our failures] and find [His amazing] grace to help in time of need [an appropriate blessing, coming just at the right moment].”

1 John 5:14 (AMP) says, “This is the [remarkable degree of] confidence which we [as believers are entitled to] have before Him: that [a]if we ask anything according to His will, [that is, consistent with His plan and purpose] He hears us.”

Finally, Ephesians 3:12 (AMP) assures us “in whom we have boldness and confident access through faith in Him [that is, our faith gives us sufficient courage to freely and openly approach God through Christ].”

I’m Bryce Johnson and you can unpack that!

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, thank You for allowing me to know You and communicate with You because of Jesus. Please help me approach You with boldness and confidence and enjoy Your powerful presence. In Jesus’ name, I pray, Amen.