Gen 28:12, 16-17 “…he dreamed of a stairway that reached from the earth up to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it….Then Jacob woke from his sleep and said,… ‘What an awesome this place is! It is none other than the house of God, and the very gateway to heaven!’”

Jacob had been a deceiver and had taken what that which was not his – his father’s blessing and brother’s birthright. But after his dream, he was a changed man. He knew that God was in the place where he lay.

Direct access to God at any time did not happen in Jacob’s time. God only spoke to specific people at specific times.

In his dream, the gate to heaven was a ladder, ascending to the house of God, and God had shown him that the gate was open. An open gate means direct access to God.

We now have the house of God, or temple, within us. We also have a “gate” to heaven. Instead of a ladder, it is a cross. God gave us access to the Father in a way that Jacob could not have. We have His Spirit living within us. The gate is open at all times, with unlimited access to the Father. We can go through the gate and ask for help or mercy, give thanks and praise, or just love Him.

Just as the angels descended and ascended the ladder in Jacob’s dream, they are still ministering agents of God to bring messages to us. A message could be through a friend’s thoughtful act or word, through the Word of God, or some random act of a kind stranger, or it could be a word from the Lord giving you direction.

By His death, Jesus gave us access to the gates of heaven, through which we can submit our petitions to the Father by way of the cross, and we have the blessing of direct access to God in heaven.

Lord what a blessing it is to have access to Your throne, and that we can come to You in confidence, knowing You love us and know what’s best. Thank you, Jesus, for being our gateway to heaven.

From ministry friend Pam Rehbein