Keep Pressing This Gospel Into My Heart

Scotty Smith: A Prayer for Preaching the Gospel to Yourself

I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome. For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.” Romans 1:15-17

     Dear Jesus, even as Paul was eager to preach the gospel to believers in Rome, so I’m eager to preach it to my own heart today. There was a time when I thought the gospel was only for non-believers—simply the doorway for beginning a relationship with you. I now realize the gospel is just as much for believers as it is for non-believers. Because from beginning to end, our salvation in entirely dependent upon the grace, truth and power of the gospel.
     Salvation is not just about going to heaven when we die. It’s about becoming like you Jesus—being transformed into your likeness. Only the resources of the gospel are sufficient for such a task, for we’re not just separated from God by a great distance, we are thoroughly broken and corrupted by sin. We need a big gospel for our great need. Indeed, there’s nothing more than the gospel, there is just more of the gospel.
     So I praise you today, Jesus, that you’ve already accomplished everything necessary to completely save us. You came into the world as God’s promised Messiah. You lived a life of perfect obedience on our behalf—as our substitute, fulfilling all the demands of God’s law for us. You died upon the cross for us—taking the judgment we deserve, completely exhausting God’s righteous anger against our sin. Hallelujah!
     Through faith in you and this good news, all of my sins have been forgiven and I’ve been given the gift of your perfect righteousness. God has already declared righteous in his sight. He cannot love me more than he does today and he’ll never love me less. In fact, because of your work for me Jesus, God now loves me just as much as he loves you, for he’s hidden my life in yours. Amazing!
     He’s adopted me as his child and placed his Spirit in my heart. The Holy Spirit constantly reminds me I’m God’s beloved child, because I’m so prone to forget. He’s also present in my life to make me like you, Jesus, for I can no more change myself than I could’ve ever begun a relationship with God on my own. Keep pressing this gospel into my heart, I pray in your precious and peerless name.