Gospel fluency—God is gracious
The following prayer guide is four 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 gracious, so I/we don’t have to prove ourselves.”
Consider: We live in a culture that tells us if we work hard enough, we can “pull ourselves up by our bootstraps” (ignoring the fact that many don’t even have boots on). We attempt to prove ourselves in the workplace. We make attempts to prove ourselves with the little castles and kingdoms we build, it can be exhausting work. For those of us fully immersed in this Western context, we also live in a hyper-individualistic culture; in other words, fight for your opinions and what you believe. Stand your ground. Thus, we find ourselves sometimes fighting over petty things to prove ourselves right. This is the water we swim in, and it shapes the way we see and relate to others and to our Father, who abounds in grace.
Take a few moments in silence and ask Holy Spirit to highlight where you might be exhausted because you are trying to prove your value by what you produce. Or, consider a relational disagreement occurring because you are clinging to a position so that you might be proved right. Or consider your relationship with God. Are you trying to earn His love through good works? Everything in you might be fighting against this exercise. This might be 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. Write down the phrases that stand out to you.
But you are a God of forgiveness, gracious and merciful, slow to become angry, and rich in unfailing love. You did not abandon them. Nehemiah 9:17
God’s law was given so that all people could see how sinful they were. But as people sinned more and more, God’s wonderful grace became more abundant. So just as sin ruled over all people and brought them to death, now God’s wonderful grace rules instead, giving us right standing with God and resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans 5:20-21
To illustrate the point further, Jesus told them this story: “A man had two sons. The younger son told his father, ‘I want my share of your estate now before you die.’ So his father agreed to divide his wealth between his sons.
A few days later this younger son packed all his belongings and moved to a distant land, and there he wasted all his money in wild living. About the time his money ran out, a great famine swept over the land, and he began to starve. He persuaded a local farmer to hire him, and the man sent him into his fields to feed the pigs. The young man became so hungry that even the pods he was feeding the pigs looked good to him. But no one gave him anything.
When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself, ‘At home even the hired servants have food enough to spare, and here I am dying of hunger! I will go home to my father and say, ‘Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. Please take me on as a hired servant.’
So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him. His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son.’ But his father said to the servants, ‘Quick! Bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him. Get a ring for his finger and sandals for his feet. And kill the calf we have been fattening. We must celebrate with a feast, for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found.’ So the party began.” Luke 15:1-2
God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. Ephesians 2:8
We don’t have room to list the overwhelming number of Scriptures that declare the grace of God. These last two passages, however, are center points. This parable from Luke is a moment where Jesus was communicating how utterly scandalous God’s grace is, though much of it’s power is often lost on us. The younger son was declaring with his request for his inheritance, “Father, I wish you were dead.” To the Jewish audience, the lifestyle he then engaged in would have relegated him to the most depraved in society. Eating with pigs? They were probably thinking, “I hope this story ends in his death because it would have been better for him that way.”
Yet Jesus says, “Let me show you what our gracious Father is really like.” Bring the finest robe. Dress him up with the best. So the party began. There’s no working your way back in.
Look again at verse 8 from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. God doesn’t want you to take any credit for your salvation. He wants you to receive his free gift. You have done nothing to earn salvation. You can’t boast about it.
If this is how our gracious God wants us to see him, how should it also affect how we relate to each other?
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 confess I have been trying to earn your love through the good things I do for you. I confess that in my relationship with [insert your example] I have tried to prove myself to be in the right instead of extending grace. I confess that I have exhausted myself and my family by trying to find my identity in what I can produce. My value is not in these things. These are only examples and 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 gracious, so I don’t have to prove myself.” I know this because [insert what you know to be true about God’s grace]. Declare, “You are gracious, so I don’t have to prove myself. I know this because [insert passages of Scripture or truths from Scripture that remind you of God’s grace]. You can use this declaration from Romans 6:14 as a guide. “Sin is no longer my master, for I no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, I live under the freedom of God’s grace.”
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 gracious, so we don’t have to prove ourselves.
Here are a few ideas to consider during this time of prayer.
Jesus, I want to intercede for believers across this city today. Help us to demonstrate what we believe at our core that you are full of grace and we don’t have to prove ourselves. As we relate to others, help us to model for others how you relate to us.
Jesus, I want to intercede for believers across this city today. Help us to find words to share with those where we live, work, learn, and play that you are full of grace and will receive anyone in your kingdom. Remind us of our own story and how we have found that grace in you.
Jesus, I want to intercede for believers across this city today. Shape our heart’s posture to be full of grace and not judgment. Help us to demonstrate this by cultivating empathy in our hearts for those around us when we see they are caught in a cycle of trying to prove themselves.
Pray that God’s people across our city will model joyful lives because their hope is in Jesus; that we will be a people who remember that God is gracious and abounding in love.
Pray that we will be a people today who surrender to the Lordship of Jesus in every area of our life.
