A Prayer to Celebrate Your Salvation this Easter Sunday
By Lynette Kittle
“Though you have not seen Him, you love Him; and even though you do not see Him now, you believe in Him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls” – 1 Peter 1:8-9
As Christians, we have countless reasons to celebrate this Easter Sunday. By God’s amazing grace, as the popular song goes, we are receiving His gift of Salvation through the death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ.
Ephesians 2:8 reveals, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.”
Why Such a Priceless Gift?
Why did God give us this priceless, lavish gift? In Romans 6:23, the Apostle Paul writes, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Sin comes with a heavy price tag, a cost none of us are able to cover on our own. And God knew that if we were to belong to Him, He would have to provide a way to pay our debt and set us free from the devil’s claim on us. Titus 2:14 explains how He “who gave Himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for Himself a people that are His very own, eager to do what is good.”
Jesus took our sins upon Himself to redeem us for Himself. 1 Peter 2:24 describes how “'He Himself’ bore our sins in His body on the cross so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by His wounds you have been healed.” Salvation is God’s gift to us, one we did nothing to earn or deserve—but His gift to us because He loves us and He is love (1 John 4:8).
Love Is the Motive behind Salvation
John 3:16 explains, “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” What the world at large doesn’t seem to understand is that without God, there is no love. Without His love, there would be no love to be found on earth, and His love is what moved Him to love us first. “We love because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19). Romans 5:8 explains more about how this incredible gift of Salvation came to us, “But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Whereas many today consider love a feeling that overcomes us, God’s love is a sacrificial choice based on who He is that brings redeeming results to us. 1 John 4:10 describes, “This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”
Salvation Only Comes Through Jesus
Jesus gives us the reason to celebrate Salvation this Easter Sunday. If God did not give Him to us, we would have no hope of redemption from sin and eternal life with Him because there is no way we can earn it or deserve it on our own. “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). The only way for any of us to receive new life and a restored relationship with God is by accepting Salvation through Jesus Christ, who has the power to break the power of sin over us. John the Apostle recorded how “Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me’” (John 14:6).
Hebrews 2:14 describes how Jesus broke the devil’s power of death over us. “Since the children have flesh and blood, He too shared in their humanity so that by His death He might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil.“ We celebrate Salvation because, as 1 Corinthians 15:22 explains, “For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.” Through Salvation in Jesus Christ, we are given new life. As Romans 6:4 explains, “We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.”
Let’s pray:
Dear Father,
Today we celebrate Your priceless gift of Salvation and for giving us a reason to observe and celebrate Easter Sunday. We accept Your gift of Jesus, given to us because of Your love for us. He is the only way to You, and we receive Your precious gift of Salvation through Him and Him alone. Our hearts are deeply grateful for Your priceless, sacrificial gift of Jesus, who, through His death and resurrection, paid sin’s debt on our behalf and freed us from eternal death and the enemy of our souls' claim over our lives. We praise You and receive the new life You give us through Salvation in Jesus Christ.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Lynette Kittle is married with four daughters. She enjoys writing about faith, marriage, parenting, relationships, and life. Her writing has been published by Focus on the Family, Decision, Today’s Christian Woman, kirkcameron.com, Ungrind.org, StartMarriageRight.com, and more. She has a M.A. in Communication from Regent University and serves as associate producer for Soul Check TV.
Editor's Note: We're proud to announce we've just launched a new nighttime companion to Your Daily Prayer: the Your Nightly Prayer devotional. You'll soon be able to subscribe to receive Your Nightly Prayer via email, or as a podcast, but for now you can find it on the website at crosswalk.com/devotionals/your-nightly-prayer. We hope it's a relaxing and soothing way to wind down your day with rich meditations on who God is.
Related Resource: Jesus Calling - Stories of Faith
Kerry Washington. Andrea Bocelli. Reba McEntire. Mark Wahlberg. Tony Dungy. Matthew McConaughey, What do all of these people have in common? They are all people of faith who have leaned on God in both the good and challenging times—and they’ve shown up to tell their story of faith on The Jesus Calling Podcast. The Jesus Calling Podcast provides a place for people from all walks of life to share the heartaches, joys, and divine moments that keep them going.
Inspired by Sarah Young's classic devotional book, the Jesus Calling podcast has brought encouragement and peace to millions. New episodes drop every Thursday! Listen today on LifeAudio.com or wherever you find your podcasts.
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Originally published Sunday, 31 March 2024.
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