Pearls of Grace: 12 Pearls + 12 PrayersChikamu

God in His great love and mercy sent His Son to take our sin upon Himself, bear His wrath, endure the punishment that we deserved, and rise again overcoming sin and death. In His death and resurrection, our penalty is forgiven! The Just for the unjust. This is AMAZING grace.

What a gift we are given in salvation! We are cleansed from all past guilt and set free from the bondage of slavery to sin. God delivers us from the dark cloud of evil that had enveloped and gripped our souls. He delivered us from the kingdom of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of light and Jesus Christ becomes our Lord, Savior, King, and Priest forever! All of our sins, past, present, and future, are forgiven. But this is not all! We are bequeathed a glorious, priceless inheritance and bejeweled with His amazing grace. "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places!" (Eph. 1:3).

The treasures of our inheritance are the many pearls of grace He bestows upon us at our spiritual birth. We will look at twelve of these lustrous pearls. May we make the most of the inheritance that is ours to glorify Him and enjoy.

Prayer: Prayer is one of God's greatest gifts of grace. We are allowed to go to Him in prayer at all times and need to be in prayer at all times. We want to make prayer our first action and first reaction. Why? Because prayer is the ultimate expression of our trust in God. John Bunyan, the author of Pilgrim's Progress, writes, "Prayer is a sincere, sensible, affectionate pouring out of the heart or soul to God, through Christ, in the strength and assistance of the Holy Spirit, for such things as God has promised, or according to the Word of God, for the good of the church, with submission in faith to the will of God." When we go to God in faith, we bless Him, and He blesses us and others.

Abba Father, help me make prayer a priority. I want prayer to be an integral part of my life. Show me how to do this. Jesus set an example for us, please grant me the grace to follow Him. In Jesus' name. Amen.