03-Aug-2024 – Your faith in Jesus unlocks the grace of God
And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement. – Romans 5:11
In the last two days, we learned about the important and foundational aspects of a believer regarding prayer. First, we must know the relationship we have with God through Jesus Christ. This helps us to gather the confidence to enter into the throne room of God to pray. Second, we must also know the purpose of our calling, which helps us to align with the will of God when we pray.
Today, God is reminding us about another important and yet foundational aspect of prayer: our faith in Jesus Christ. The faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross is the reason for our relationship with God and for knowing the purpose of our calling. Not only that, but we are also justified and now have peace with God.
By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. – Romans 5:2
Through this faith in Jesus Christ, we have access to the grace of God. Grace is the favor of God. For example, suppose you are in need of some resource and know where to get it, but you don’t know how to approach that person. Then you find that one of your friends is a close friend of that person. You would ask for your friend’s favor to get that resource. Your friend, basing only on the relationship you have with him, provides you with support and a recommendation.
Likewise, everything that we need in our life is with God. But we cannot approach Him due to our sinfulness and unrighteousness. When we believe in Jesus Christ and His finished work on the cross, the righteousness of God is imputed to us, justifying us as righteous. We now have the recommendation of Jesus Christ to enter into the presence of God.
This is very important to understand when we are set to pray to God. The first two foundational aspects of the relationship with God and the purpose of our calling are only valid because of our faith in Jesus Christ. Without this, we don’t even have a way to approach God.
When we know and understand these three truths completely, our prayer will always be with humbleness. We can understand that we are not worthy on our own, but Jesus Christ showered His mercy and grace and atoned for our sins and transgressions. By doing so, He enabled us to be what we are. We could be great prayer warriors, prophets, preachers, teachers, miracle workers, or anything great or small, but the reason is the same.
This truth enables us to understand and acknowledge that our neighbor also has the same opportunity through his faith in Jesus Christ. We will stop judging and pointing fingers because we know the reason for our current standards. We know for sure that without Jesus, we would be useless.
If we know this truth, when we pray, our prayer will always come out acknowledging the mercy and grace of our God in our lives and with compassion towards the people we are praying for, or even when we pray for our needs and requirements.
Prayer
Dear loving heavenly Father, thank you for your love and grace. I acknowledge that I was a worthless and useless person. But through the love of Jesus Christ, which was displayed on the cross of Calvary, I am now justified and made righteous. I understand that you extend your love towards all the people of this world. Help me to understand this truth so that I can practice compassion and love towards my fellow human beings and pray as I ought to pray. I pray in the name of my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, Amen!
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