Watchman Prayer Hour
14-15 February 2024
The Grace of God
The grace of God is the definite factor that beautifies our lives. Have you ever heard this phrase – “He/She is very graceful”? There is something about some people that you just can’t put your hand on. That thing is called grace.
Hebrews 4:16
Let us, therefore, come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need
The Bible says to come boldly to the throne of grace. Lord, we have come in prayer this morning to Your Throne of Grace. Wherever you are, I want you to begin to declare; Father, I have come to your throne of grace this morning. I obtain mercy, and I find grace.
When you study through the scripture, you will discover that grace is not a light matter. The difference between Mr A and Mr B is the measure of grace they are walking in. The difference between men is not the gift of righteousness but the abundance of grace.
There is what we call initiating grace and continuing grace.
There is a grace of our Lord Jesus that brings us into salvation. We were born into the family by grace, and we continue in the family by grace. It is by grace we are saved, and then kept, and we must be intentional about appropriating the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.
We can define grace as the love of God actively at work in the life of a man. The key word here is ‘actively’.
This means the love of God can find active expression in the life of man. Right from the Old Testament, the grace of our Lord has always been available, but it was known as mercy at the time. It found more meaning and expression in the cross of Jesus. The emphasis of the word ‘grace’ in the New Testament is staggering!
Even though grace has been made available, Hebrews 4:16 says to approach the throne of grace to obtain grace and mercy. This implies we must appropriate this grace that is made available.
Dimensions of grace
There are 5 dimensions of the grace of God I want to give you today:
Saving grace.
This is what people are most acquainted with – the grace of God that brought us salvation. Ephesians 2:8. “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God” Our salvation came by grace. Our redemption came by grace. It had nothing to do with us. It was entirely by the grace of God. This is the biggest blessing of your life. Bless Him for the miracle of salvation. “Lord, I give You praise, Lord. I thank You. For rescuing me out of the darkness, Jesus, I thank You. Lord, thank You for loving me. Blessed be Your Holy Name.”
Sanctifying grace.
We are saved by grace and then sanctified by His grace. It keeps us holy and sanctified. I am confident today that someone will experience the sanctifying grace of the Lord in Jesus Name! Titus 2:11-12 “For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world.” Lay your right hand on your head and declare this; “The grace of our Lord Jesus is sanctifying my life. There is a strong desire for fellowship with the Lord coming on me. There is a strong desire for consecration coming on me, and there is grace available. Sin has no power over me, in the name of Jesus.”
Strengthening grace.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ is an empowering and enabling force. It causes you to do the superhuman, to do the impossible. When this grace rests on you mightily, it enables you to do spiritual disciplines without being monitored. It gives you superhuman strength, just like Samson. The empowering force of grace! 1 Corinthians 15:10 – “But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.” Lift your right hand and say this with me, “Heavenly Father, I am strong in the grace that is in the Lord Jesus. I run through a troop, I leap over a wall, I do the impossible. In the name of Jesus.
Supply grace.
Supply grace is grace that meets our needs super abundantly, far above all we can imagine. That is why you find people who are never in need. The grace of God always supplies their needs. Nobody is where they are by chance. There is what is called supply grace; the supply of resources, the supply of help and the supply of all you need.
2 Corinthians 9:8 – “And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:”
Service grace.
The grace that causes people to serve supernaturally. By that, I mean you find yourself empowered and enabled by the Spirit of God for service.
1 Peter 4:10 – “As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God”
There is a grace that can come upon you to serve tirelessly. Understand that there are blessings of faith and there are blessings of faithfulness, and these don’t cross. Some blessings come solely because you are faithful in the vineyard. In the kingdom of God, the way you rise is through service. I decree and declare over everyone reading this right now, a fresh grace for service is coming upon you in the name of Jesus!
The grace of God is beautifying your life! His grace is taking away your shame today. I see you wearing a cloak – Grace heaped upon grace! Lift your hand and say this; “Heavenly Father, thank You that grace is heaped upon grace in my life.”
There is more!
If God wants to change your life, He gives more grace.
James 4:6 “But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.”
The very nature of grace is that you don’t put your confidence in your strength or your ability. If you ever think that the things happening in your life now are because of your ability, then you are negating the dimension of grace in your life.
The first key to more grace is humility – a life of surrender, where you don’t put your confidence in your ability but in God totally.
The second key is obedience to instructions. Instructions are excuses that God creates in the system for the initiation of grace. You see, before men can enter greater dimensions of grace, God gives them instructions. Understand this; the throne of God is established upon mercy and justice. According to the justice system of God, He gives instructions, and your obedience to these instructions is what applies the legitimate application of more grace on your life.
Never play with divine instructions. God has given to many people reading this right now instructions that they have not followed. Get to it right now. Grace is on the other side of obedience. My prayer for someone is this, you do not delay in obedience of the instructions of the Lord. Brothers and sisters, please obey the Lord.
Prayer of thanksgiving
One of the most powerful means to grace is thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is a mark of spiritual humility and hunger. I want you for a moment to look away from the things that you need and with all your heart, thank the Lord for all He has done for You. Thank the Lord for your life. The Bible says to “bless the Lord oh my soul and forget not all His benefits.” (Psalms 103:2). It states this clearly because it is possible to forget the Lord’s benefits. With all your heart bless the Lord right now. Thanksgiving has a means of releasing grace. There’s fresh grace available for you today. Thank the Lord for His grace that makes the difference.