31 Days of Prayer: Because He Lives for you

Did you know we have a Savior? His name is Jesus Christ and He lives for you. Quite literally!

Let's revisit the "story of Jesus" as some Christian circles like to call it, just in case you don't already know. Here's the synopsis: Many years ago, Jesus Christ who is the ONLY Son of God, came to Earth as a baby born to a woman servant of God named Mary who married a man named Joseph (Matthew 1:18-25). Mary and Joseph who worked as a carpenter, raised God's Son to know who He was to God, taught him how to pray to God and educated Him about the Scripture. The Scripture said God will send a Savior to redeem His people. Jesus Christ's mission as our Savior was to break the power of death which the devil had over humans and Jesus could only do that by being our substitute which meant He had to die in our place. It was a one-time deal that made an eternal difference. Just once Christ was called to take on the sins and heartache of the entire world, literally, and then after resting in the grave for three days, He was to be risen and alive. 

After Jesus fulfilled His mission on Earth to redeem us through His blood (death) being shed on the Cross, He laid resting or some would say dead, in the grave but after three days, just as Scripture says, Christ rose from the dead and was ALIVE! He rose victorious over sin and death and after visiting his loved ones and disciples on Earth to prove that He really was alive, Jesus returned to His Father God in heaven where he still ministers in the heavenly sanctuary as our High Priest. Jesus Christ is constantly interceding for us before His Father God. Every time we sin and ask God to forgive us, God (who hates sin) sees His pure Son Jesus in our place and He is able to forgive us as He remembers that Christ died for our sins in our place. Jesus paid the penalty so that we can have a fair shot at eternity.

The most exciting part about the gospel message (as told through the Bible books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John), is that JESUS IS ALIVE! Just like the song by Natalie Grant "Alive" emphasizes, "Death has lost and Love has won!" 

So back to the question I ask almost every day for this series on prayer, "Why pray?" Today my answer is, "because He Lives for you". So when you pray, please keep in mind that the One you're praying to loves you and lives for you. God is not an angry, unmerciful tyrant sitting on his throne high in the heavens beyond our reach. He is a loving and merciful Ruler who sent His Son Jesus Christ to this Earth to show us that God is Love and to set us free from the shackles of sin.

I keep re-emphasizing these main points (God is Love, Jesus Christ is our Savior, Jesus is ALIVE) because it's important for us to remember. You're not praying to an idol who did not create itself and has ears but yet cannot hear you (Psalm 115). You ARE praying to the Creator of the Universe who can hear you and not only does He hear you, he answers your prayers.

So today, let's pray for understanding. May we understand the story of Jesus. May we come to love and meditate on the gospel truth. May we realize when we pray just how much God loves us and may our sense of God's unconditional love for us transform our lives as we communicate with Him each day through prayer.

May God bless you!