Gospel fluency—God is glorious
The following prayer guide is two of four where we will focus our prayers around one of the 4Gs of Gospel Fluency. To explore the 4Gs of Gospel Fluency further, you can check out this pdf by Tim Chester who developed this tool, or purchase Tim Chester’s book called You Can Change, or you can pick up Gospel Fluency by Jeff Vanderstelt. The 4Gs are covered in chapter 6.
The 4G’s of Gospel Fluency are:
God is great, so I/we don’t have to be in control.
God is glorious, so I/we don’t have to fear others.
God is good, so I/we don’t have to look elsewhere.
God is gracious, so I/we don’t have to prove ourselves.
There’s so much more to God’s character than what is written above, to be sure. But much of what distracts our hearts on a consistent basis can be traced back to not believing one of these four essential truths.
In this guide, we will focus on “God is glorious, so I/we don’t have to fear others.”
Consider: We don’t often use the word glorious. We might refer to a beautiful sunset or something that momentarily takes our breath away as glorious, but it is not often said in everyday vernacular. The Biblical idea of God’s glory is best understood in simple terms: “There’s nothing and no one that matters more!” Yet, we tend to seek approval from our spouse, our boss, or other companions. We might even long for this approval and fear being rejected. We compare ourselves; we give in to peer pressure; we say yes to everything so we don’t miss out; we over inflate our accomplishments, and the list could go on, all in an effort to find fulfillment and approval that you already have in Christ.
Tim Chester writes, “We talk of ‘needing’ the approval of others, but our true need is to glorify God and love people.”
Take a few moments in silence and ask Holy Spirit to highlight where you might be serving people’s expectations rather than being in awe and wonder of who God is and what He thinks about you. This might be a difficult task and hard to admit or even see. Don’t rush past this moment. You don’t need to do anything else but take a note. Write them down in a journal if it is helpful.
Consider these passages and write down what stands out to you.
I love you, LORD; you are my strength. The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my savior; my God is my rock, in whom I find protection. He is my shield, the power that saves me, and my place of safety. I called on the LORD, who is worthy of praise, and he saved me from my enemies. Psalm 18:1-4
He reached down from heaven and rescued me; he drew me out of deep waters. He rescued me from my powerful enemies, from those who hated me and were too strong for me. They attacked me at a moment when I was in distress, but the LORD supported me. He led me to a place of safety; he rescued me because he delights in me. Psalm 18:16-19
I prayed to the LORD, and he answered me. He freed me from all my fears. Those who look to him for help will be radiant with joy; no shadow of shame will darken their faces. In my desperation I prayed, and the LORD listened; he saved me from all my troubles For the angel of the LORD is a guard; he surrounds and defends all who fear him. Psalm 34:4-7
All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son.[b] He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins. He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding. Ephesians 1:3-8
Your Father delights in you. Even before He made the world, God loved you and chose you in Christ to be holy and without fault in His eyes. He decided in advance to adopt you into His own family by bringing you to Himself through Christ Jesus. This is what He wanted to do, and it gave Him great pleasure.
Prayer of confession, unbelief: Consider taking what you have written above and beginning with a prayer of confession. You might pray something like, “Jesus, I put my ‘fear’ of [insert what you’ve written] over you. I have longed for the approval of [insert a name] instead of considering that I only need your approval. Jesus, I confess that I did not believe that you it is only you that is my strength, my fortress, my rock, and the one in whom I find salvation. Jesus, I confess that in my fear of missing out, I’ve overcommitted myself to look good for others.” These are only examples. They might not be the prayer you need to pray. Write out the specific prayer you need to confess. Explore what you are feeling and tell Him whatever comes to mind as you confess.
Prayer of confession, belief: Now that you have confessed your unbelief. Take a few moments to confess your belief. Take a few moments to declare, “You are glorious, so I don’t have to fear others.” I know this because [insert your own experiences, just as David did, of how your Father has cared for you.] Declare, “You are glorious, so I don’t have to fear others.” I know this because [insert passages of Scripture or truths from Scripture that prove that God is glorious]. You can use this declaration from Psalm 27 as a guide. “The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?”
Consider and pray: When we pray together, we collectively “focus our prayer beam.” This has always been a desire as we share prayer guides. Today, let’s take a few moments to pray for other believers across our city to remember, “God is in glorious, so we don’t have to fear others.”
Tim Chester writes, “The fear of God is liberating. We take people’s expectations seriously because we want to love them as God commanded. But we’re not enslaved by them. We don’t serve them for what they can give us in return— approval, affection, security, or whatever. By submitting to Christ’s lordship, we’re free to serve others in love (Galatians 5: 13).
Here are a few ideas to consider during this time of prayer:
Jesus, I lift up believers across this city today. Help us to surrender to your lordship first and foremost and then serve others in love.
Jesus, I lift up believers across this city today. Give us the grace to stand in awe of Your glory not sacrifice ourselves on the opinions of others.
Jesus, I lift up believers across this city today. Help us live humble lives and not over inflate our egos in pursuit of approval or security. Help us to find that only in You.
Pray that God’s people across our city will model peaceful lives because their hope is in the salvation that can only be found in Jesus. That we will be a people that remember that Jesus delights in us, and that is more than enough.
Pray that we will be a people today who surrender to the Lordship of Jesus in every area of our life.
