Prayer Reflection – March 9, 2023
2 Chronicles 7:14 (NIV)
14 if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
Romans 5:1-5 (NIV)
Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
Romans 5:1-5 (The Message)
1-2 By entering through faith into what God has always wanted to do for us—set us right with him, make us fit for him—we have it all together with God because of our Master Jesus. And that’s not all: We throw open our doors to God and discover at the same moment that he has already thrown open his door to us. We find ourselves standing where we always hoped we might stand—out in the wide open spaces of God’s grace and glory, standing tall and shouting our praise.
3-5 There’s more to come: We continue to shout our praise even when we’re hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next. In alert expectancy such as this, we’re never left feeling shortchanged. Quite the contrary—we can’t round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit!
Thank You Jesus for what You have done for us!
In this season of Lent, as we anticipate Easter, I am reflecting today on the completed work of Jesus on the cross and His resurrection.
I was reminded this week of this reading of Romans 5 from The Message and I encourage you to sit with this chapter and read through it in different versions as Jesus leads you.
For reading different versions of Scripture, Bible Gateway (https://www.biblegateway.com/) or the YouVersion Bible App (https://www.youversion.com/the-bible-app/) are both helpful resources in this way, but I understand if you need to step away from technology and sit quietly with your Bible (paper copy) and your journal (also paper J).
The completed work of Jesus. Nothing lacking. Nothing left undone. Simply taking His hand and saying, “Thank You Jesus! Please lead me today.” (see Ephesians 2:8-10).
In these days, what is Jesus drawing to your attention? In your life? In the lives of those around you? I invite you to prayerfully reflect on what He is asking you to pay attention to and then bring those things to Him in prayer.
As we pause today with Jesus, this is a song that I wanted to share with you.
Let’s continue to keep our eyes on Jesus and let Him lead us through His priorities for today (see Hebrews 12:1-3).
The Lord bless you!
