Embracing Grace Bible Reading Plan

“Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord” (2 Peter 1:2).

Even though most of us logically understand the grace of God and believe in its saving power, our hearts can sometimes have a hard time embracing God’s grace in our daily lives. What I have found in my own walk with the Lord is that when I’m sincerely seeking Him through the Word and in prayer, I feel worthy enough to approach and have an intimate relationship with Him. However, when I mess up or am not seeking God as much as I once was, I start to feel insecure about my standing with God and no longer worthy enough to approach Him. These feelings of despair and unworthiness usually cause me to pull even further away from God. Have you ever felt the same way? I think most of us have.

Whether we realize it or not, sometimes we subconsciously allow our works to influence our perspectives on where we stand with the Lord. This is what creates the disconnect between acknowledging God’s grace and yet not being able to embrace it fully.

Our justification does not come through works or how we live, but by God’s grace through faith in Jesus (Ephesians 2:8-9). In the book of Isaiah, we are even told that all of our righteous acts are like filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6)! What we easily forget is that even on our best days, when we feel like we are doing everything a Christian is supposed to do, we still are nowhere close to earning God’s grace because grace is not something that can be earned. Grace is something that is freely given by God. By its definition, grace gives what is not deserved.

Understanding God’s grace is crucial to our walks with the Lord. For it is through the hearing and accepting that we have been saved by the grace of God through His Son, Jesus Christ that we receive salvation. However, the importance of God’s grace doesn’t just stop there. To live a life full of joy, assurance, peace, and to experience everything that the Lord has in store for us, we must not just understand, but also embrace the grace that has been freely given to us in all aspects of our lives.

Once our heart and mind have absorbed the truth that Christ died for us and that we are saved, not because of anything that we did or will do, but because of His great love for us, our faith and who we are as women will change. When we realize how undeserving we were (and are) of His forgiveness and love, our thinking and how we act will become more compassionate and patient. It will be easier for us to extend the grace we’ve freely received to those around us (even those who we may think are undeserving), and our prayer lives will be transformed.

I’ve created an Embracing Grace Music Playlist so that you can also listen to songs about grace. You can listen HERE.

As you read the Scriptures found in the Embracing Grace Bible Reading Plan, I pray that your perspective and understanding of God’s grace would deepen and intensify. That you would no longer think of grace as only an abstract term or concept, but that you would recognize and rejoice that Jesus Christ is grace personified (Titus 2:11).

How To Get The Most Out Of Your Bible Reading Plan

1. Set aside at least 15 minutes a day to read the daily readings outlined in the Embracing Grace Bible Reading Plan (scroll down to access the printable plan). Before you start reading, ask the Lord to speak to you, draw you closer to Him, and for Him to reveal Himself to you through His Word.
2. Below the Embracing Grace Bible Reading Plan printout, you’ll find summaries of all four sections of the reading plan: Embracing Grace That Comes From God, Embracing Grace Toward the Undeserving, Embracing Grace In How You Think And Act, and Embracing Grace In Your Prayer Life. Although you’re free to read all four summaries at once, I recommend reading one section overview at a time before you begin reading that section’s Scriptures.
3. Make sure to download and follow along with the 31-day Embracing Grace Scripture Writing Plan.

Download The 31 Day Scripture Writing Plan To Get:

31 Different Scriptures: after completing each day’s readings, the Scripture Writing Plan will present you with a unique verse that corresponds to the passage you just finished reading. Each one of these verses complements and reinforces what you will be reading and learning from the corresponding Embracing Grace Bible Reading Plan.

Outlined Journal Pages: designed to organize the verses and to give you enough space to write down each verse. The act of writing it down will help your mind store the verse in your long-term memory vs. your short-term memory.

4 Handpicked Scriptures: Scriptures that encompass and summarize each section of the Bible Reading Plan are included so that you can easily print them out, meditate on, and memorize throughout each part of the study.

A FREE ART PRINTABLE:

Scripture Wallpapers: Specially designed screenshots of each of the four handpicked Scriptures made especially for your cell phone! Now, every time you look at your phone, you will be reminded of what the Lord is teaching you and will be encouraged by the words of God.

Embracing Grace Scripture Writing Plan

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The Bible Reading Plan:

Click here for the printable version of the Embracing Grace Bible Reading Plan.

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Embracing Grace…That Comes From God

“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).

To fully embrace God’s grace, we must first take an intimate look at our own understanding of grace. Although we may mentally and logically comprehend the grace of God, we can still have a difficult time living in the grace of God. How is this possible? How can we believe and yet not fully comprehend God’s grace? The answer is threefold:

1. We allow our emotions to have more power over us than we should. When we sin and fall short of God’s standard, we tend to beat ourselves up with feelings of unworthiness and guilt. And often, we project our own negative emotions about ourselves unto God. We take our emotions as evidence of how God must be feeling toward us at that moment. However, our feelings or how we view ourselves have absolutely no influence on God’s heart toward us: “For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things” (1 John 3:20). In Proverbs 28:26 we are even told that “he who trusts in his own heart is a fool, but whoever walks in wisdom will be delivered.” To walk in wisdom is to abide and trust in God’s word and place His truth above what our minds or hearts may tell us from time to time.
2. Although you cannot see it, there is a spiritual battle taking place every day within and around us: “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:12). Even though the devil knows that he has lost the battle for our souls (because we’ve accepted Christ), he is still out to destroy whatever he can in our lives during our time here on earth, rob us of our future treasures in heaven, and thwart the will of God. The devil is a thief, and his mission is to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10). As Christians, our hope, joy, and peace are rooted in a deep acceptance and understanding of God’s grace. However, the devil knows that if he can distract and entice us with the things of this world and get our eyes off of God and out of God’s Word, that it will be easier for him to twist our understanding of God’s grace. This manipulation of not only our minds but the Word of God is what prevents us from experiencing the abundantly peaceful and joyful life that Christ intends for us to live.
3. We are not as intimately acquainted with our Savior as we should be. If we are all honest with ourselves, we will admit that we need to be spending more time with the Lord. God longs to reveal Himself more fully to us and for our relationship with Him to grow deeper. The more hours, days, and years we spend wholeheartedly seeking the Lord in His Word and on our knees in prayer, the more He will show Himself to us. As our relationship with Him deepens so will our understanding of His character and His heart. For it is only in the understanding of who God is that one can truly accept and embrace His grace.

On the very first day of the Embracing Grace Bible Reading Plan, we are going to address all three of the above-mentioned hurdles that prevent us from living fully in God’s grace. We begin in the book of Luke, looking at three different parables: The Parable of the Lost Sheep, The Parable of the Lost Coin, and the Parable of the Lost Son (Luke 15). As you read these three parables, know that Jesus is pictured as the shepherd looking for his lost sheep, the woman looking for her lost coin, and the father welcoming his son back home with open arms. We are the lost sheep, the missing coin, and the prodigal son. I chose to open the reading plan with these parables for one reason: so that we would come to understand the gracious and loving heart of our Father more. He not only seeks after us when we go astray, but He freely bestows upon us His blessings and gifts. He waits with open arms for us to come to Him, not because of anything we have done, but because of who He is, which is gracious and merciful.

The first day of the reading plan then comes to a close with a prayer for spiritual wisdom found in the book of Ephesians. This is the prayer I am praying over all of you and the prayer I want you to continually pray as you complete this reading plan. After seeing the gracious heart of God so beautifully illustrated and then powerfully praying for our understanding to be enlightened on day one, we are then going to look at a section of Scripture on day two that acts as almost a case study of one of the Apostle Paul’s spiritual struggles.

Like all of us, Paul wanted to do only what pleased the Lord, but he often found himself doing the opposite (Romans 7:15). Can you relate? I know I can! After we read of his internal struggle of flesh vs. spirit, Paul goes on to explain that even when we sin and do the things that we don’t want to do, that we are still in right standing with God because the spirit of God dwells within us.

When we sin, feeling convicted and repenting is what we are called to do, but oftentimes instead of then focusing our eyes on our gracious God and acknowledging what Christ accomplished on the cross (which would result in rejoicing, praise, and peace), we have the tendency to beat ourselves up and focus on how horrible we are (which results in feelings of condemnation, fear, and distress). Here is a quote from John McArthur that I believe conveys and complements what Paul is stating to us in the excerpt from Romans: “You don’t want to evaluate the character of your salvation by your failures, you want to assess the genuineness of your salvation by your desires. What you love. What you long for. What you want.”

Often, when we think of exemplary Christians, we look to those first early men and women, who walked or had personal encounters with God, but what we too easily forget is that they were just like us. They were flawed human beings who had to fight their sinful natures on a daily basis. So the next time you mess up and do something that you know you shouldn’t have done, remember that the man who God used to write most of the New Testament (Paul) struggled and fell into sin as well. More importantly, remember that our God is a gracious God.

From what we’ve read, we see that the word of God clearly establishes who our God is, the heart that He has toward us and that no Christian is perfect (or is expected to be). As we move on to days 3-7, we will also see that the foundation of God’s grace was laid thousands of years ago and that there is nothing any of us could do (as true followers of Christ) to void or reverse the grace that God has given us.

On day 3, we will be focusing on two chapters in the book of Ephesians that proclaim the truth of our redemption and reconciliation with God through Christ. In the very first verses of Ephesians chapter 1, we are told that God chose us before the foundation of the world and that He predestined us to be His adopted daughters through Jesus Christ (v.4-5).

Before there was even a world in existence, God saw your beginning, He saw what you call your past today, He saw what’s happening in your life now, and He saw everything that is going to happen to you: “When I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them” (Psalm 139:15-16).

Before you even formulate a word or a thought, He knows what you are going to say and do: “Even before there is a word on my tongue, behold, O Lord You know it all” (Psalm 139:4).

There is nothing that we have done or will do that will surprise God. He already knows everything that is coming: “Remember the former things long past, For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things which have not been done, saying, ‘My purpose will be established, And I will accomplish all My good pleasure‘” (Isaiah 46:9-10). When we mess up, it doesn’t surprise God, and it doesn’t have any effect on our right standing before Him because Christ already paid the price for not just that sin, but every sin that we have and will ever commit.

Grace is the unmerited favor of God toward man. This means that although we are not worthy of God’s blessings and gifts, He freely gives them to us. As Christians, our works are not what save or condemn us before God; it is the gift of God’s grace through His Son, Jesus Christ that saves us. When we accepted Christ, God placed a seal of salvation on our souls through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit that acts as a promise and guarantee of our inheritance until the day we stand before our Creator (Ephesians 1:13-14). Nothing we do could ever erase that seal, that guarantee or that promise. We’re simply not that powerful.

On days 4, 5 and 6 we are then going to dive even deeper into our understanding of God’s grace and our justification through that grace by addressing the concept of faith vs. works. We will begin on day 4 by looking at a passage of Scripture in the book of James that many of us may not only struggle to understand but also one that seems to stand in direct contrast to the idea of justification through grace alone. On day 4, I simply want you to read this passage, maybe even a few times, and really take it in. If you’re confused, that’s okay! We are going to unpack and explain what James is saying (using Scripture) on days 5 + 6.

SPOILER ALERT! What James is telling us, does not challenge what we have previously read, but rather complements it.

As we will read on days 5 and 6, the Law doesn’t save us from God’s judgment or keep us in a right standing with Him, but it does show us who we really are (sinners in need of a Savior), it protects us from sin’s damaging effect on our lives and relationships with others, and guides in our daily living as Christians. God gave us His Law to protect from sin, convict of sin, and to bring us to Christ (Romans 3:20). We were never meant to be justified (or saved) by the Law or by living a godly life, but by God’s grace alone through Christ (Galatians 2:16, Romans 6:14).

Being obedient to God’s Law is the natural outworking of our salvation (or right standing with God), not the source of it.

Let me say that again, being obedient to God’s law is the natural outworking of our salvation, not the source of it. If we are true followers of Christ, if the spirit of the living God dwells within us, we will desire to follow the will and law of God, which will result in the natural outworking of good works. This is why James tells us, “but someone will say, ‘You have faith, and I have works.’ Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works” (James 2:18).

On day 7, we close this first section of the Embracing Grace Bible Reading plan with a passage that beautifully summarizes God’s grace and love toward us. And it is also in this passage from the book of Romans that we will find a verse that we should all memorize and recite to ourselves when we feel defeated by sin, overwhelmed with guilt, or are having a difficult time extending grace toward those around us whom we think are undeserving: “Where sin abounded, grace abounded much more.”

I pray that as you sleep tonight and as you go about living your life over the next days, weeks, and years, that you would find rest, assurance, and peace in knowing that God’s grace toward you will never run out.

Embracing Grace Scripture Writing Plan

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Embracing Grace…Toward The Undeserving

“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

Looking back on who we were before we came to Jesus and the mistakes we made and the sins we struggled with is an important part of being a Christian. However, this process can either discourage us or encourage and inspire us. If when we look back, we simply focus on our failures and in turn believe the lie that these negative experiences somehow define who we are as women and followers of Christ we can easily become disheartened. This is a waste of time and unfruitful. On the other hand, if in those times of reflection we fix our eyes on Jesus and how graciously forgiving He has always been toward us, this will lead us to more easily extend the grace that we have received to those around us.

We begin on day 8, with a passage from the book of James that I pray will prepare our hearts and minds for this next section of the Embracing Grace Bible Reading Plan. In these Scriptures, we are urged to not just be hearers of the word, but also doers. For if we are true heirs of grace, we are called to extend the same spirit of grace that we have received to everyone in our lives, even the ones we may classify as undeserving.

We are also told that when we read the word of God that it acts as a mirror into who we are. In the light of God’s truth, we can see our sinful natures and our desperate need for a Savior. Throughout the next two days (days 8 + 9), we are going to use Scripture to look back at who we were before we came to Christ. We are looking at these Scriptures to remind us of who we were before we received the grace that changed not only who we are as women, but our entire life trajectories. I pray that in illuminating who we use to be that we would be able to more graciously identify with and love those who are still walking in darkness. That in seeing where we were and how far we have come that we would better understand the power that grace can have upon a life.

On day 10, we are then going to look at a parable that illustrates not only the grace that God has given to us but also how He expects us to freely forgive others just as He has forgiven us. In the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant, God is pictured as the king, we are the servant who owes 10,000 talents, and anyone who has wronged us is the fellow servant who owed 100 denari (here is a great article explaining the vast difference in the amount of the two debts). The message is clear: since God has forgiven us for so much (every sin that we have and will ever commit), we have no right to refuse to forgive others for small offenses (in comparison to everything we have been forgiven for). God has freely showered His grace upon us, and He expects us to do the same to those around us.

We will close out day 10 with a passage found in the middle of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. From Jesus’ teachings here, we are told that when someone asks us to walk a mile with them, that we should walk two. As Christians, we are to go beyond what people ask or expect of us. After reading what the Lord says about the treatment of our enemies, I urge you to go the extra mile and read 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 to gain an even deeper understanding of the calling that God has placed on our lives to love those who don’t deserve it. We are to follow Christ’s example and love them because Christ loved and died for us while we were still His enemies (Romans 5:8).

On days 11, 12, and 13 we will then take a look at the life of Joseph to see the embodiment of what extending grace toward the undeserving looks like. We begin in chapter 37 of Genesis.  It is here that we meet a 17-year-old boy, who aside from the folly of his youth and not having very much tact when interacting with his brothers, was an honest and honorable young man. However, his naivety mixed with his father’s favoritism brought out the worst in Joseph’s brothers. On account of their great hatred, envy, and jealousy of Joseph, they mocked him, conspired to kill him, sold him into slavery, and then told their elderly father that Joseph was killed by an animal.

As we follow Joseph’s story, and as the years pass, we will see that God was slowly yet perfectly setting the stage for Joseph to rise to power. From Joseph being sold in Egypt to Potiphar, being accused of rape, spending time in prison, to who the Lord placed beside him in that prison, we see that the Lord was always with Joseph, not only leading him to where God wanted him to be, but also shaping him into the man that God wanted him to become.

Sometimes it’s hard for us to understand why God allows certain things to happen or why evil seems to be victorious over good. Joseph could have easily questioned God’s goodness or why He was allowing him to go through so many hardships, but He knew and rested in two very powerful truths:

1. The Lord was with Him (Genesis 39:2).
2. God works all things together for good to those who love Him (even other people’s sin and evil motives) (Romans 8:28).

God worked through and in spite of Joseph’s brothers’ evil thoughts and actions to accomplish His will for Joseph’s life.

That is how powerful and amazing our God is; nothing can thwart what He wants to accomplish in our lives!

On day 13, we will read of what happened when Joseph and his brothers were reunited after years of separation. In Genesis chapter 42, we find Joseph in a position of power over his brothers. If over the years, Joseph would have allowed his heart to become hardened toward them, he probably would have refused to help them, thrown them in prison (or even have them killed), or at the very least insist on an apology. Instead, however, he becomes overwhelmed with emotion, and we see him extend love, hospitality, and generosity to not only his brothers but to their children.

When it would have been easy for him to take revenge, Joseph chose grace instead.

Joseph is a wonderful example of a spiritually mature man who was able to look beyond his circumstances and the motives of evil men. His brothers did not deserve his forgiveness, kindness, or humility and yet he freely gave it to them. He was able to do this because he did not fix his eyes, heart, or mind on what others had done to him. He fixed his eyes, heart, and mind on the God who loved Him and who was always beside him. Like Joseph, we are called to uphold this same standard of grace by treating others (even our enemies or those who are unkind to us) how God has always treated us, with love, patience, and grace.

Now, if this sounds nearly impossible to you, it’s because it is! You will not be able to extend grace to the hurtful people in your life in your own strength. But take heart! The spirit of the living God dwells within you, and He will supply you with the strength, patience, love, mercy, and grace to do so: “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30). And as we will see on day 14, we also inherit blessings when we yield to His will in our relationships with others.

Then, on day 15, we close out this section of the reading plan in the same way we began it. By being reminded of who we were before we came to Christ and how we are expected to behave as new creations in Christ towards others. We didn’t deserve God’s love, time, energy or grace and yet He has given them all to us (and more!). Grace in never deserved, if it were it wouldn’t be grace. We are not to treat people how they deserve to be treated; rather we are called to treat them how God has always treated us, with abounding and everlasting love and grace.

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Listen To The Embracing Grace Music Playlist here

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Embracing Grace…In How You Think & Act

“Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers” (Ephesians 4:29).

Although they should go hand in hand, living in grace is not the same as living with grace. Living in grace is resting in the knowledge and truth of what Christ accomplished on the cross. However, this is not where God wants the effects of grace to end. God wants to use His grace to transform all aspects of our lives, including how we think and act. In Luke 6:43-44 we are told that “a good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. For every tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.” Our heart and mouth are intimately tied to one another. So much so that the Lord tells us to “above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it” (Proverbs 4:23).

Since there is such a strong correlation between the spiritual health of our hearts and our actions we are going to begin this next section of the Embracing Grace Bible Reading Plan by looking at a Psalm (on day 16) that I pray will allow us to gain a more intimate and accurate view of the true condition of our hearts. However, it will not be the actual words that will teach us about the inner workings of our hearts per se. Rather, it will be the act of being reminded that there is One who knows us better than we know ourselves and the invitation that we will extend to God to search our hearts.

After reading Psalm 139, we should find great comfort and confidence in knowing that our Savior knows us so intimately and yet He still showers us with His loving grace. Here is a quote from Charles H. Spurgeon that I think embodies just how blessed we are to serve such a gracious God:

“If any man thinks ill of you, do not be angry with him, for you are worse than he thinks you to be.”

The intimacy by which the Lord knows every one of us is astounding, and the fact that He still loves and extends grace toward us in spite of our wickedness is quite unfathomable. He knows the sins we struggle with, the feelings that sometimes overcome us, and every one of our desires and dreams. He sees us exactly as we are. He sees every one of our imperfections, every careless word that has been spoken, every wicked or blasphemous thought that has ever entered our minds, and every sin that we have committed and yet He never stops extending His love and grace toward us. Halleluiah!

As our Creator, He also knows the things that will bring us abundant joy and the things that can destroy us. On day 17, we will look at a passage in James that shines a light on a part of our bodies that can cause great heartache to ourselves and others if we are unable to tame it. As we read about the power of the tongue, remember that Scripture tells us that the words that come from our mouth stem from our hearts. This means that what we choose to say (and how we say it) reveals what lies deep within our hearts (Matthew 15:18). If the words that spring forth from our mouth are bitter, angry, hateful, judgemental, deceitful or simply unkind, it is because we are harboring evil thoughts and motives deep within our hearts. On the other hand, if our words are peaceful, pure, gentle, and full of mercy and grace, we know that our hearts have been transformed and healed by Jesus.

To successfully tame our tongues, we must first know how to tame our heart, which is no easy feat. In the book of James, we are told that no man can tame the tongue (James 3:8). If the tongue in untamable then we can easily conclude (using Scriptures that address the relation of our mouths and hearts) that no man can change the condition of his heart either. But God isn’t a man and the things that are impossible with men are possible with God (Luke 18:27).

God can and will transform our hearts (which in turn will change how we think, act and speak), but for Him to do so, we must be obedient to His word. We must make a deliberate effort to train our minds to think the way that Jesus does. We also must be persistent in prayer for the Lord to shape our hearts to desire the things that He desires. And, on day 18, we will be taught exactly how to train our minds to align more with the heart and will of our Savior.

Now, I don’t want us to gloss over 2 Corinthians 10:5 where we are told to take every thought captive to Christ because this is imperative to our growth as Christina women. Our mind is like a muscle in the sense that we can train it. When a sinful thought enters our mind, we have two options. We can either feed into that thought and stew in the wickedness of it, or we can identify it as evil and choose to direct our thoughts elsewhere or to focus on Scripture that pertains to whatever we are struggling to resist at that moment. In God’s strength and with our own diligence this will become easier and easier to accomplish. As we will read on day 19, it is our responsibility to discipline our bodies, hearts, and minds and bring them in subjection to God. We are to live out our faith every day and in every way that the Lord has instructed us to.

You can take part in a 4 Week Praying The Scriptures Prayer Challenge that focuses on transforming your mind so that it aligns with the heart of God more here.

During days 20, 21, 22, and 23 we are going to be looking at deeply rich and practical passages of Scripture that outline specifically how we are to think, act and speak as followers of Christ. Over these four days, I don’t want you to feel overwhelmed by all of the information we are taking in. Instead, before you read each passage, ask the Lord to speak to you and to reveal the areas of your life that are not pleasing to Him. Then, as you read, I want you to write down the specific Scriptures that jump out at you and that the Lord prompts you to write. These are probably the ones that God wants you to focus on at this point in your life. Soak in these Scriptures and memorize them so that you can implement them in your daily life.

God wants the grace that He has freely bestowed upon us to be visible in our everyday lives. He wants us to embrace grace because when we use His life as a pattern for our own, we become imitators of Christ. And it is only when we allow our sinful thoughts, actions, and words to be crucified with Christ that we can live with grace and bring others to Him.

Embracing Grace…In Your Prayer Life

“Now this is the confidence that we have in God, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us” (1 John 5:14).

Over the last 23 days, we have focused on how we can embrace the grace that we’ve received from God, how we can, in turn, take that grace and extend it to those around us, and how that grace should transform us from the inside out. However, none of what we’ve read can be fully actualized without embracing grace in our prayer lives as well.

So, how does one go about embracing grace in their prayer life?

The answer is easy, pray.

We need to ask the Lord to help us understand the depth of His love and grace toward us so that we can grow closer to Him and all those around us. We need to thank Him for everything that He has done for us. For His patience, love, mercy, grace, compassion, and understanding. We also need to ask Him to give us eyes to see people how He sees them and a heart to love others how He loves them. We need to be praying for our enemies and the ones who have hurt us until our hearts are full of love and compassion for them. Let’s pray for people who wouldn’t pray for us and for those who no one may be praying for. And, we need to not just pray only once for these things or for particular people, but to pray continually and without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17).

Again, the answer is easy, but the follow-through can be challenging.

Resolve in your heart to set aside time every day to spend with the Lord in prayer. I have found that the best time for prayer is early in the morning when I am the only person awake. It is only in this time that there are no distractions or anything that could pull me away from this sweet intimate and transforming time with the Lord.

Over the next 8 days, we are not only going to be looking at Scriptures that address prayer, but we will also be praying these Scriptures over our own hearts and lives. After reading each passage, I want each of us to pray the words that we’ve read over ourselves and the people in our lives. I pray that this would act as a jumpstart to each of our own daily prayer time routines.

On day 24, we will begin this last section of the Embracing Grace Bible Reading Plan by being reminded why prayer is so powerful and important. When we close our eyes and bow our heads, we step onto a battlefield of spiritual warfare. Our enemy is powerful and intelligent. In the book of Ephesians, we are told to “put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” The definition of wiles is, “devious or cunning stratagems employed in manipulating or persuading someone to do what one wants.” The devil is out to steal and destroy whatever good God wants to bring in and through our lives. He is also busy keeping the lost in bondage to sin with his lies, delusions, tricks, and schemes.

But God has given us a powerful weapon/resource/gift in prayer. And on day 25, we are going to take a look back at Jerusalem’s history in the book of Ezekiel and in Psalm 106 to compare what happens when godly people pray and when they don’t. In the first 29 verses of chapter 22 of Ezekiel, we see all of the sins of Jerusalem descriptively outlined for us. Then, in verse 30, we are told that God wanted someone to “stand in the gap” or in other words for someone to pray to Him on behalf of these sinful people, but He could not find a single person who would: “‘So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one. Therefore I have poured out My indignation on them; I have consumed them with the fire of My wrath; and I have recompensed their deeds on their own heads,’ says the Lord God.” In Psalm 106, however, we see that when someone stands in the gap that God listens and extends His mercy and grace. We see that God saves. 

Do you “stand in the gap” for anyone when you pray?

Standing in the gap for someone else is the epitome of embracing grace in your prayer life. Loving and fighting for the lost or difficult people in our lives is what God has called each of us to do in the hope that one day those people will be able to stand before the throne of God unashamed. If you don’t know who to “stand in the gap for” the Scriptures on days 26 + 27 will give you some ideas.

Now, I have a feeling that we will all have a much more difficult time praying for the people that God commands us to pray for in Matthew 5:43-48 (day 27). As we pray, we also need to ask the Lord to take away any hurt, bitterness, anger, or pride that may be preventing us from extending His grace to the people who have hurt or disappointed us. If we ask, God will enable us to pray for those people with a sincere and loving heart, which is exactly what we are going to ask Him to do on days 28 + 29 for us.

As we pray for spiritual wisdom and to comprehend the love of God more and more, know that God will work through these prayers to give us His strength, love, patience, and grace which will enable us to live lives more pleasing to Him and to draw others to Him through us. When we pray prayers like these, our desires line up with the will of God. And when our desires and prayers line up with the will of God, prayers get answered, and people (including ourselves) are changed. Being rooted and grounded in God’s love is what motivates, inspires, and transforms us into women who act, think, and talk more like Jesus. And the more we imitate Christ, the more we will embrace His grace in all aspects of our lives.

We close out the Embracing Grace Bible Reading Plan with two Psalms on days 30 + 31. We start first with Psalm 141, which will guide us in a prayer asking God to smooth out our rough edges and to keep our eyes transfixed on Him and His word. Then, on the last day of the reading plan, we will use Psalm 145 to guide us in a prayer of exaltation toward our great God and all that He has done and for who He is.

As we live out our daily lives, I pray that all of us would be women who would not only comprehend God’s grace more but that we would embrace grace in all aspects of our lives. For it is only when we embrace grace that we can be true imitators of our gracious God and Savior.

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Listen To The Embracing Grace Music Playlist HERE.

Take a listen to one of the songs below:

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Please note that a singer or group’s presence on this playlist is not an endorsement that they have correct theological beliefs or are part of a church that teaches sound doctrine. Charles H. Spurgeon put it best in the preface of his commentary of the Psalms, The Treasury Of David: “I am far from endorsing all I have quoted. I am neither responsible for the scholarship or orthodoxy of the writers. The names are given that each author may bear his own burden.” Also, I’ve included the song “Reckless Love” on this playlist, despite my strong belief that God’s love is in no way reckless. However, in spite of that one word, I believe that this song beautifully illustrates the love and grace of our God and serves as a wonderful reminder of how we should treat others.