Prayer Initiates Incredible Grace

The “7″ Series on prayer began with “Seven Truths About Prayer”.

My message (June 22) covered Truths #1-4.

Watch the message at firsteuless.com

Truth #6: Prayer initiates INCREDIBLE GRACE. 

When Jesus teaches His disciples to pray, He emphasizes FORGIVENESS more than anything else. Forgiveness means that we “extend grace” to others the way God extends grace and forgiveness to us.

It is IMPOSSIBLE for me to truly pray  (and by “pray” I mean that I realize that I don’t deserve prayer or mercy or grace or this access to the Holy Throne Room of God) without realizing I’ve been absolutely and graciously FORGIVEN of my sinfulness and sin and am only able to pray because of that forgiveness.  I know this sentence is long. Read it again. You can’t truly pray without understanding you’re forgiven.

That means, as a forgiven and cleansed person, I know that I must extend that same forgiveness to those who’ve sinned against me.

This is what Jesus means in Matthew 6:12 when He says, “Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.”  And if this is not clear, Jesus emphasizes it twice more in this text.  When Jesus says something three times in one conversation, it’s a sure thing that we need to “get it.”
For us to “get it,” we must “give it.”  Grace, that is.

When I pause to pray, I remember the huge debt I’ve been forgiven, and I so desire to walk in that forgiveness and access that I willingly, immediately, completely and sometimes excruciatingly and painfully, forgive others for anything they’ve wronged me in. And I am to do this each time I pray.
It does so much.  It reminds me of God’s amazing grace toward me.  It cuts loose the dead weight of unforgiveness and bitterness and lets me be unhindered in my praying. It lets me get up from that prayer completely at peace with God and man.

And it lets me initiate grace in my behavior, my words and actions wherever I go.
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Pray with incredible grace this week and watch and Him work in you. Keep praying, and keep following along with us online to #GetToThe7.