Psalm 145:8-12
8 The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love.
Oh, Lord. We are grateful for Your grace- it is so much more than we deserve. Your compassion is overwhelming to us, sinful as we are. You hear the cry of the afflicted, the cry of Your image-bearers and You answer with perfectly designed responses for each one. No cry goes unheard. No cry goes unanswered. Thank You that You hear us and that You care. When You reach down and pull us out of the pit, Your grace and compassion are at work. You set our feet on a rock, with our heads high above our enemies. Even when we were still in our sin, You loved us and ransomed us. Thank You for your plentiful, steadfast love. And thank You that Your anger is slow to kindle- I know we press in and test the boundaries far too often and we ought to receive Your wrath, but instead you show us your steadfast, plentiful love in the form of grace and compassion. You can’t contradict Yourself. Lord, help us to live worthy of You. We are blessed by You in so many ways. Today, help (name) to see your grace and compassion and realize that it is present and plentiful for them. No sin is too great for You to forgive. No distance is too for for You to find them and help them return to You. Lord, show (name) Your rich love today.
9 The Lord is good to all; He has compassion on all he has made.
Lord, when I look at this world and the ways people rail against You and defy You, I know we deserve nothing more than Your wrath. But You are good to all, even to those who spit at Your name. You are Good! You nourish the earth with rain and sun. You bring forth fruit and grain for us to enjoy. You provide fellowship and protection. And when it comes to Your children, You nurture and care for us so that we can serve You well. Your compassion is akin to tender mercies- that of a parent cherishing, protecting and loving a growing child. Even when we rebel, You love us. Lord, I pray that You would help (name) to know Your love today. May they reject the lies of this world and follow after You. May they pursue You with their whole heart, overwhelmed by Your goodness and grace, convicted to live a life worthy of the love and mercy You so freely give. Don’t let them go, Lord. Chase after them with your goodness and mercy until they turn and follow you willingly and with joy.
10 All you have made will praise you, O Lord; your saints will extol you.
Heavenly Father, one day every knee will bow and every tongue will confess, yet even in that moment, not every heart will be surrendered to You. I pray that (name) would be fully surrendered, living a life of obedience to You. I pray that (name) would praise You with their whole heart. Lord, help them sing with abandon, raising their hands to heaven in powerful praise of who You are and all that You do. Let their hearts be full and overflowing with joy. Lord, I pray that (name) would be counted among your saints, a child of the Most High God, counted worthy to escape everything coming in this world and worthy to stand in glory with You, blessing Your name for all eternity. Give them a head-start in that praise and blessing today and give (name) a glimpse of heaven so they are overwhelmed with the magnificence of what is to come- the promise of eternity with You. Never let Your name leave (name)’s heart and mind. May it always be on their lips, ready to share with those who need to know You.
11 They will tell of the glory of your kingdom and speak of your might,
The glory of Your kingdom is more than we can explain with words, but I ask that You would give us words that would help bring understanding to those who need to know You; those who need to understand that Your Kingdom is an everlasting Kingdom and they can be a part of it!. Compel us to speak of Your power and might. We want to stand in awe of You, Lord, and in so doing, leave others in awe of You as well. I pray, Lord, that (name) would represent You well. Let the legacy of our family bring glory to Your name. Let our place in Your kingdom be a blessing to You and a testimony to others. Lord, wreck us with Your glory and goodness so that we have no choice but to praise and extol Your Name to all that we meet. Help each of us to put ourselves aside for the sake of Your plan and purpose. May our lives radiate the glory of the Lord because we are continually seeking to follow after You with abandon. Lord, help (name) to understand the importance of being sold out for Christ.
12 so that all men may know of your mighty acts and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
Burden us, Lord, for those who don’t know You. Help us to grieve for those who live in bondage and darkness. Change our plans, get our attention, and use us to bring the gospel to those who need to know Jesus. Give us words to share the wonder of Your mighty acts with those who don’t know. Remind us of your grace, compassion and Your rich love that offers forgiveness and redemption so we can share that hope with others. Give us insight to explain just how glorious Your kingdom is and that You desire that we all have a room in Your house, so that where You are, we can be there too. I pray that (name) would be homesick for You, Lord, and would take every chance to share the way Home with others who need Your hope and salvation. I pray this in Jesus’ name, amen.
Pray without ceasing
Grace and Peace
“Grace and peace to you from God our Father
and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
(1 Corinthians 1:3; 2 Corinthians 1:2; Galatians 1:3; Ephesians 1:2; Philippians 1:2; Colossians 1:2; 1 Thessalonians 1:1; 2 Thessalonians 1:2; 1 Timothy 1:2; 2 Timothy 1:2; Titus 1:4; Philemon 1:3)
Grace and peace. Charis and eirene. Two Greek words that have a lot of impact in the New Testament. Two words that, at face value, seem pretty simple and easily understood. Yet, we’re going to see when we really dig into them, there is significant spiritual depth to each and, when spoken together, they become a powerful blessing that we’ll want to pray over our sons and daughters daily.
The greeting and prayer of grace and peace were so important that the Apostle Paul began most of his letters with this blessing (note all of the references above!) What is it that Paul wanted to draw his readers’ attention to before anything else? What is it he wanted them to understand?
First the word grace, or “Charis” in the Greek, is a word that both ‘is’ and ‘does’. It has ‘presence’ and ‘performance’ It represents more than what a five letter word might imply. The word ‘grace’ means “that which affords joy, pleasure, delight, sweetness, charm, loveliness: grace of speech” 1
Think about that for a moment. The presence of grace in our life is what affords us joy, pleasure, delight, sweetness, charm and loveliness. Without grace we would be fairly miserable, no? Friends, if we just stopped here and prayed this over our sons and daughters we would have a powerful day of prayer. But there’s more!
Grace performs powerfully in us because it is what God employs to draw us to salvation and to transform our life to become like Jesus. Grace is “the merciful kindness by which God, exerting His holy influence upon souls, grace turns them to Christ, keeps, strengthens, increases them in Christian faith, knowledge, affection, and kindles them to the exercise of Christian virtues.” 1
Grace. It’s a lot to unpack, isn’t it? So much richness right there and surely something we should ponder daily. Now it makes a bit more sense as to why Paul would begin each letter with blessings of Grace and Peace to all of the believers. But grace always comes first. Why? Because without God’s grace, one can never know and understand God’s peace.
And what is peace? The Greek word is ‘eirene’ and it means “the tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and content with its earthly lot.” 2
Another ‘wow’ moment, eh? When we’ve experienced God’s powerful grace in salvation and edification, why would we fear? What is there to fear? God has sovereignty over it all and we are His child! We can rest secure, knowing that we have eternal security in Christ, we have a promised inheritance and the gift of the Holy Spirit to speak into our lives, guide our steps and guard our hearts. Sin will have no power over us and death is swallowed in victory. We are chosen and dearly loved, kept by the Father.
Grace and peace. More than just two words. More than 10 simple letters. Grace and peace are powerful messages of salvation, hope and assurance. Today, let’s pray boldly that our sons and daughters would know God’s grace and peace in abundant ways.
“Father, may Your great grace bring a convicting recognition of the magnitude of our sin and of the even greater power of Your mercy toward us. May it drive us to deep repentance and a full restoration of fellowship with You, Lord, and with others. May Your grace be ever before us, reminding us of Your rich forgiveness and of Your calling on our lives (Eph. 1:4-6) May Your ever-present grace fill us and assure us that we are Your own, bought with a price and redeemed for a purpose, planned long before You ever breathed life into us (Eph 2:10). Let your grace in our lives be evident to others and draw them, too, to so great a salvation (2 Cor. 4:15, Eph. 1:7).”
“Lord, as we rest in and are consumed by Your grace, fill us with Your peace- an assured confidence that our life and eternity are hidden and secure in Jesus (Col. 3:3). You are my salvation and stronghold- I have nothing to fear (Ps. 27:1) Help me to always present my requests to You, thankful that I can call upon You for anything, and assured that the peace You give is abundant and perfectly measured and able to surpass anything in this world or in any realm beyond.”
“Father, without Your grace, we would not know Your peace. I pray that (name) would know and embrace both Your grace and peace. Help (name) to walk faithfully because they are sanctified and called to be holy (1 Cor. 1:2). Keep (name) strong to the end so they will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 1:8). In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.”
Take some time this week to meditate on the truths of grace and peace. Don’t just make it a short visit, but plan an extended stay. Pray on the richness of these words and all they represent for the believer and the hope we have. Make this week a week of prayer for grace and peace in the lives of those you love.
Pray without ceasing.
G5485 - charis - Strong's Greek Lexicon (niv). Retrieved from https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g5485/niv/mgnt/0-1/
G1515 - eirēnē - Strong's Greek Lexicon (niv). Retrieved from https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g1515/niv/mgnt/0-1/