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Praying with Grace (Ephesians 2:8-9)

This is a partial re-post, if some of this sounds familiar!

Scripture of the Day: Ephesians 2:8-9

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.”

I needed a reminder of this concept of praying with grace tonight! I have a big prayer request for a high school friend of mine who has a very sick little girl. Earlier I found myself praying a conditional prayer: "Please God do this, but if not...do this." And I stopped myself and decided to get rid of the "but" and the "if not" and just go for the big prayer. "God, please perform a miracle. Please heal this little girl." I am not sure that I have ever actually asked God for a miracle before...but I am sure asking now!

Tonight, I prayed with grace. Here is what I consider that to be! If you look back at the Scripture verse, grace, this getting of something amazing that we did not deserve, came about as a gift from God. If I believe my life (which is a very big thing) can be saved through grace, grace can also apply to everything I pray about. 

We need to pray for the big things. We need to pray in belief that the Lord of all can grant our prayers. We need to get over the unbelief that he won’t answer prayers because we are not worthy of it or because he doesn’t want to.

In a weird way I am looking at this way of praying as “praying with grace.” It’s like saying, “Thank you God for saving me with grace. Because of this, I am going to pray to you for everything, regardless of what I think I ‘deserve,’ or what I think you will or won’t do to intervene in the lives of people down here. I am going to trust that You can do all things and show me what to pray for as continue to bring me closer to You.”

When you pray with grace, you pray big and you pray hopeful and you pray in faith that he can DO IT. When you pray with grace, you don’t place a “but…” or an “if not…” in your prayer. When you pray with grace, you pray with your whole heart because you believe in the God you are talking to.

Friends, pray with grace. Ask for miracles. They can happen - even in ways we don't expect.

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