A Poor Man’s Grace

A POOR MAN’S GRACE

By:  Julie Souza Bradley Lilly

“But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.” – 2 Corinthians‬ ‭12:9‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“My grace is sufficient for you,” is a phrase that, in the past, has felt somewhat discouraging to me.  In our culture, the word “sufficient,” usually means “meager, adequate, barely enough.” Consequently, when coming before God requesting His “sufficient grace,” I pictured myself as a beggar, pleading for the crumbs and scraps from God’s table— half expecting Him to be stingy, because, perhaps, He wasn’t quite finished chewing on that bone.

It wasn’t until while enjoying an old movie, that I watched a servant come before a king, bow and address the king as, “Your Sufficiency.”  Something clicked.  Certainly, the servant was not declaring the king barely adequate or lacking.  On the contrary, he was declaring the king rich and the keeper of opulent abundance!

Beloved, are you in need of sufficient grace today?  We are no longer beggars. For those who have been bought with a price, we are the King’s precious, adopted children — so dearly loved, He sacrificed His Son to make us His own.  In response to your need, our Father does not offer a begrudging, skimpy poor man’s grace.  He bids us to come and feast upon lavish grace from His inexhaustible table.

Beloved, His grace is sufficient for you!  His grace is an overflowing, unending torrent that purifies, exceeds the brim and fills every nook and cranny.

“And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.” – 2 Corinthians 9:8 ESV

Father, we come and bathe ourselves in Your grace that transforms paupers into princes, endlessly pours and always exceeds the need.  Now, may we embrace our identity, and, in turn, carry the signet and hallmark of our Father— the generous pouring out of grace upon others.  In Jesus’ Name ❤️

https://www.facebook.com/Prayers-of-a-Ragamuffin-Warrior-171515087035441/

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A City On A Hill

Image
A CITY ON A HILL By:  Julie Souza Bradley Lilly “You are light for the world. A city cannot be hidden when it is located on a hill. No one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket. Instead, everyone who lights a lamp puts it on a lamp stand. Then its light shines on everyone in the house.” – Matthew‬ ‭5:14-15‬ ‭GW‬‬ And I saw thousands of souls struggling in a churning sea.  Under the darkness of a moonless sky, without a boat, they were tossed.  Beneath them sharks swam, nipping at heels, eliciting sharp cries from those who flailed.  It caused them to cling to their neighbor, pushing them to submerge, sputter and gasp.  Exhaustion, chaos and hopelessness hovered over the waters like a mist, obscuring the small points of light that seeped out from around the boarded windows of the nearby city on a hill.  The city on a hill—a beacon of hope to those drowning, contained behind windows shuttered with fear. Lord, we see chaos all around us —man’s inhumanity to man— fear, anxiet
Read more

Paul’s Handkerchief Prayer

Image
Good morning, my friend!  Good morning, Father! “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” - Deuteronomy 31:6 Lord, we don’t have to be the only one in a room to feel alone.  We can be in a coliseum full of people and still feel lonely.  We feel alone in our skin.  You encourage us to not forsake meeting together as a church (Hebrews 10:25), but it is the internal companionship that keeps us from feeling loneliness in that packed coliseum. Father, I lift my friend.  Your Word says that where two or more are gathered in Your Name, You are there in the midst of them.  So Lord, as in Acts 19:12 when Paul sent a blessed handkerchief to the sick and they were healed, likewise, across time and space I take hands with Your precious child.  Together we bow before You and admit we need You.  We invite Your presence.  If they feel lonely or alone today, in their life or in
Read more

Beauty Among the Ashes

Image
Good morning, my friend!  Good morning, Father!   “I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that   I would see the goodness of the Lord in  the land of the living.   Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage,   And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord!” - Psalm 27:13-14 Father, we thank You that with You all things are possible.  All around us there are financial troubles, poverty, disease, depression, anxiety, divorces, confusion, disappointment, illness, loss, pain and grief.  The list goes on and on.  People are suffering, Father, and are clinging to the last vestiges of hope.   Lord, I lift up my friend.  You know precisely what weighs on their mind today, and which troubling thoughts strike fear in their heart.  Long seasons of struggle bring with them weariness and discouragement.  I cry out to You on their behalf, Lord.  You are able.  We ask for miracles.  Nothing is too difficult for You.  We ask that You take what the enemy intended for evil
Read more