This morning we continue our series, “Maximizing 2015 by God’s GREAT GRACE” by continuing to teach on prayer. We have been walking through the book of Ephesians. Throughout the first chapter and into the second chapter it is clear that the Apostle Paul understood God’s grace and he did a great job of explaining it to us. This morning we will look at a familiar topic, salvation. We will look at how grace and faith were involved in saving us from hell and how that applies to prayer.
In the fifth verse of the second chapter the Apostle Paul said, “You have been saved by God’s grace.” In verses 8-10 he went on to say, “I mean that you have been saved by grace because you had faith. You did not save yourselves; it was a gift from God. You are not saved by the things you have done, so there is nothing to boast about. God has made us what we are. In Christ Jesus, God made us new people so that we would spend our lives doing the good things he had already planned for us to do.” (Ephesians 2:8-10).
So what does this mean to you today? Let’s seek to glean a few golden nuggets from what Paul said.
1. You were saved by God’s grace, not your works.
a) In no uncertain terms the Apostle Paul taught us that we are saved by God’s grace.
b) Grace is unearned, unmerited, and often undeserved.
c) In his letter to the church in Rome the Apostle Paul said, “And if by grace, then it cannot be based on works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace.” (Romans 11:6).
d) Salvation comes to you as a gift by God’s grace, not as a payment for your works.
e) If you earn it, then it is payment for what you have done. But when you know you have done nothing to earn or deserve it, you can then simply accept a gift by grace.
1. You were saved by God’s grace, not your faith.
a) Faith is what you used to accept the gift of eternal life in Christ Jesus, but faith is not what saved you. You were saved by God’s unearned grace.
b) God’s grace was made available to all men to receive the gift of eternal life. You used your faith to accept the gift. That’s all you did. But your act of receiving is NOT what provided eternal life. That’s was done completely by God’s grace.
3. You must understand who is responding to whom.
a) Don’t think that God is at your beck-and-call, responding to what you do in faith, serving you and giving you everything that comes out of your mouth.
b) When you understand God’s grace you realize that you are the one responding to God, and His grace, not other way around.
c) When you exercised faith for salvation God did NOT respond by sending Jesus to die for your sins. No. God had already done His part, by grace, before you were born. All you did was exercise faith to access the grace He had already made available to you.
d) Your faith comes in response to God’s grace. God’s grace DOES NOT come in response to your faith. You must understand who is responding to whom!
4. God made you new so you could spend your life doing the good things He ALREADY PLANNED for you to do.
a) You don’t get to tell God what to do with your life. It’s the other way around.
b) God made plans for you before the world began. Your job is to FIND, FOLLOW and FINISH those plans, by God’s grace, for His glory!
5. Effective prayers are prayed in faith, from a position of God’s grace.
a) Just like with salvation, you use your faith to access God’s grace to do everything He planned for you to do.
b) ‘By grace through faith’ is how we access everything in God.
c) God has already set up your success. Everything you need to succeed in life has been set aside for you by God’s grace.
d) The most important aspect of prayer is revelation or discernment. You must see be able to see who you are and what you already have in the spirit realm by faith.
e) When you pray and use your faith to access the things God has already planned for you to have (or to do), then your faith will access His grace and you will experience His best.
Closing Confession: Father, I thank You for Your Great Grace towards me. You made plans for me before the world began. I was born in sin, ignorant of Your plans for my life. I spent years walking and living in sin, oblivious to the good things You had planned for me. When I was made aware of Jesus, of what He had already done for me, and of the eternal life You freely offered me in Him, I accepted Your Son Jesus as my Lord. I now have eternal life and I get to enjoy the life You planned for me to have. You did not save me because I exercised faith. I exercised faith, because You had already freely offered me salvation by grace. And just like that — by grace, through faith — I am able to access everything else in my life. I did not have salvation until I asked for it with my faith. And there are many other things You are waiting for me to pray for in order to receive. I have not because I ask not. But I will start asking. As the Holy Spirit reveals things to me that are already mine to have, I will ask in faith, and my faith will access Your grace to manifest Your best in my life. I live my life by grace through faith. I pray every day by grace through faith. I do all I do by Your grace, with my faith, and because of it, I will maximize my purpose and potential. I will accomplish all I was born to accomplish. I will finish my divine assignment. By your grace, through my faith, for Your glory! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
This is Today’s Word! Apply it and Prosper!
