Surrender — Praying Like Jesus Blog

“Open to me the gates of righteousness; I will go through them, and I will praise the LORD. This is the gate of the LORD, through which the righteous shall enter. I will praise you, for you have answered me, and have become my salvation.” Psalm118:19-21 (NKJV)

“Yes, I am the gate. Those who come through me will be saved. They will come and go freely and will find good pastures.” John 10:9 (NLT)

Jesus came to liberate us by providing the way for us to come to the Father. We have freedom to come in and go out so that we “may have life, and have it until it overflows.” (John 10:10)

Is your heart burning with love for Him for all He has done?

As we enjoy His holy presence, God’s deepest things are revealed to us by His Spirit. We are empowered to pray confidently, approaching His throne of grace boldly (Hebrews 4:16). But are we willing to invest our time and tears in sacrificial prayer? When we prevail in prayer to discover His will, are we willing to obey whatever He tells us?

During the planning of a 1954 evangelist crusade in London, England, Billy Graham’s team faced giant opposition. Instead of succumbing to discouragement, Billy Graham fought the battle on his knees. Written by one of New England’s prolific hymn writers, Fanny Crosby, “To God Be the Glory” was suggested for the event. This hymn, describing Jesus as the “life gate,” became the crusade’s theme song. The Lord answered the prayers of His people by extending the crusade for three months, sparking a revival-like reaction in England.

May our thankful hearts unite in adoration for Jesus the life gate, as we joyfully sing the hymn’s refrain: “… O come to the Father through Jesus the Son, and give Him the glory, great things He has done.”

Barb Wibling

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“But don’t just listen to God’s Word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. For if you listen to the Word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it. — James 1:22-25

God has been challenging me lately from this passage in James. As I read His Word, do I really believe what it says? Do I live like I believe His words are true?

I love to read passages of Scripture from different versions of the Bible. This often gives me a fresh outlook on a familiar passage. Recently, I looked at Ephesians 1 from The Message version. As I did, I sensed the Lord encouraging me, “Personalize it, read it out loud to yourself, and then declare it over those you are praying for.” Here’s a sample of what this sounded like:

God is the Father of [my] Master, Jesus Christ, and He takes [me] to the high places of blessing in Him. Long before He laid down earth’s foundations, He had [me] in mind, had settled on [me] as the focus of His love, to be made whole and holy by His love. Long, long ago He decided to adopt [me] into His family through Jesus Christ. (What pleasure He took in planning this!) He wanted [me] to enter into the celebration of His lavish gift-giving by the hand of His beloved Son. — Ephesians 1:3-6 MSG (personalized)

After going through this exercise, I sensed the Lord steering me back to the passage in James and asking me, “Can you look in the mirror and read these verses from Ephesians to yourself? Can you receive what I’m saying about you?” I realize that part of obedience is receiving in my own heart the identity bestowed upon me by my heavenly Father, and then living like a child who knows she is the focus of her Father's love.

Jesus is the Life Gate

Mirror, Mirror