Saturday Morning Prayer and the Grace of God

I woke up today at 5:30am.

Now, that might seem a little too early for a Saturday morning for most people, but this has become a normal waking time for Ali and I. We had a hard time initially waking up this early on “our only day off.” Over time though, this waking time has become something we look forward to.

We wake up to go to a small group gathering called Morning Prayer. Karis Church, the church that we have been members at for some time now, started a morning prayer time for each day of the week. Each morning, at 6am, there is an organized time to pray for God to work in our lives, our friends and family, the city of Columbia, and for the church.

As the elders introduced this to the church I immediately felt a conviction. I didn’t understand what the conviction was at first, but I knew I desired to be involved with a Morning Prayer time. I remember hearing that there were still two morning slots that needed leaders - Tuesdays and Saturdays. 

I can’t remember much of the sermon that morning because all I was thinking about was if I should step up and lead one of the open dates. I immediately crossed off Tuesdays because I have Staff Meeting for the church on those mornings, so I knew that it would conflict with that time. So… Saturday was all that was left.

I sat in the pew that morning thinking about why I would want to do this. Did I want to do it because “real” leaders step up? Did I want to do it because I wanted to conquer a challenge? Did I want to do it because I could tell people I am choosing “the hardest morning?” (By the way, waking up at 5:30am is hard any day of the week!)

Those are all twisted reasons to get involved in leading others in prayer, but the one reason that came out from all of it was this:

I struggle with prayer.

I remember sitting there being struck with this healthy conviction that I am robbing myself of God’s intimacy by not spending time in prayer. This reality struck me because I knew it affected my relationship with God.

Why do I say that? Well, I say that because I see how easy it is to fall into believing lies that influence my heart and thoughts about God and His grace. I, like most people, stray into focusing too much on my sin and not our Savior.

"Dear Father, teach us to give our greater efforts to reveling in Your grace rather than groveling in our sin.” Art Azurdia

My lack of prayer reveals that I am more focused on my sin than the grace of God, and I know that the more I focus on my sin the more that I feel guilt and shame for falling short. Sinning in the first place is not “reveling in [God’s] grace,” but refusing to come to God in prayer is also not reveling in His grace. 

There are plenty of reasons why most of us don’t pray: guilt, shame, pride, self-sufficient lies, unbelief, anger, etc. I think of the reasons that I struggle with prayer because I feel extreme guilt and God won’t forgive me for something so offensive to His holiness. While it is true that my sin does affect my relationship with God, the truth is that my sin does not change my standing in Christ. I have placed my life in the grace of God for my salvation and not my works, so when I fall short - and I certainly will - His grace is sufficient to forgive me.

The same thing is true for you if you have trusted in Christ: His grace is sufficient to forgive you and His love for you is the motivation to come before Him for forgiveness and thank Him for His glorious grace.

We have the freedom to come before God, humble ourselves, and ask Him to give us eyes to see Him as He truly is. God is faithful and forgiving to those who are humbled before His holiness and His glory.  

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. (1 John 1:9-10 ESV)

Saturday mornings have now become a blessing from God. It started off with just my wife and I, but now we have three others joining us. I wake up groggy each time, but I wake up knowing that God is faithful to hear our prayers. 

If you are interested in joining me pray, please let me know and I would love to connect with you. 

God is good and gracious.

Jacob Luis Gonzales