Part 1 & 2 lead us inward, helping us to renew our minds in God's acceptance of us and the value of that acceptance to us.  

God's righteouness has been given to me as a gift. He now sees me according to how Christ has lived, not on the basis of my day-to-day performance. 

Christ's salvation is 100% complete, and 100% the possession of those who have received it in repentance and faith. Right now, if you are in Christ, when God looks at you—regardless of your situation—He sees the righteousness of Christ. If we really believed that—not only with our heads but also with our hearts—it would change everything in our lives. 

The danger: Unless we are actively preaching the gospel to ourselves daily, we fall back into "works-righteousness".

Part 1 & 2 lead us inward, helping us to renew our minds in God's acceptance of us and the value of that acceptance to us. 

Jesus is the one essential thing that we must have. He is life itself. Jesus is better than money, better than human love, better than earthly pleasure, better than earthly power, and better than popularity. 

"Pleasure is the ray; God's love is the sun. Pleasure is the shadow; God's love is the substance. Pleasure is the stream; God's love is the ocean." - Jonathan Edwards 

When you are satisfied with God's presence and approval in your life, you will no longer obsess about what everyone else thinks about you. You can quit hiding your faults and start living with authenticity, letting people see the real you—the "you" with all the faults and warts—because you no longer depend on their admiration for personal fulfillment. 

It's a revolutionary liberating truth: In Christ you have all you need for everlasting joy. His approval and presence are all you need for life and happiness.  

Part 3 of the prayer has us considering what responding to the grace of the gospel looks like. Understanding God's generosity toward us should lead us to radical generosity to others. 

It's impossible to really experience the grace of the gospel and not be transformed into a person of kindness, generosity, and love. When we experience the generosity of the gospel we will naturally extend that generosity to others. We become people with a generous spirit, and that affects how we treat others and what we do with our money, time, and talents. 

The people who really believe the gospel become like the gospel. 

The clearest mark of God's grace in your life in a generous spirit toward others. 

Part 4 of the prayer helps us see our world through the lens of the gospel and moves us to audacious faith. If the cross really does reveal God's compassion for sinners and the resurrection reveals His power to save them, then our prayers on their behalf should be audacious and bold. 

What would your prayers look like if you believed that the cross really was the measure of God's compassion for someone?

There seems to be no limit to what God will do when we perceive His willingness to help and ask Him to do it. There is no shortage of compassion in God. The shortage is in our willingness to believe in that compassion. 

The gospel reveals to us how willing God is to save. We should ask accordingly.

Wherever you are: "Expect great things from God, attempt great things for God." - William Carey

Pray with the confidence that comes from the gospel.