DAY 1 - MERCY SHOWN

We have forty days, from today until January 1st of the New Year!  What would happen if our church, Echo, would lift up individual prayers for each of those forty days?  How might God move us, use us, grow us?  In a way, we could consider this a spiritual experiment.

Let's begin with the tough stuff - prayers of grace!

How can you be obedient to Jesus’ words in Luke 6:28 and “bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.”? How can you pray for those for whom you are not thankful this Thanksgiving?

Over the next three days, as we move toward Thanksgiving, you will be challenged with three prayers you can pray:

PRAYER 1:  Mercy Shown to Us

"But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." -Romans 5:8

Thank God that while you were still a sinner, Christ died for you. Remind yourself of the good news of the Gospel this Thanksgiving. The mercy that was shown to you is the mercy you are called to show to your enemies. As Jesus said in Luke 6:35, when you love your enemies, you “will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil.” 

Praise God for loving you when you were (and are) ungrateful. 
Praise God that when you were evil, He set His love on you. 
Praise God that those people for whom you are not thankful are a perfect reminder of the mercy shown to you by an infinitely loving God.