Why preach the gospel to yourself (No. 13)

Here is another reason -- "Chosen for Prayer" -- to preach the gospel to yourself as provided by Milton Vincent in his book A Gospel Primer for Christians.

When God chose me in Christ before the foundation of the world, He did not merely choose me to be "holy and blameless"; He chose me also to be "before Him in love." To be sure, I am always in God's presence on earth, and in heaven I will be in His presence more fully than ever. But it could also be said that in this life I am especially "before Him in love" when I come "before Him" in prayer and worship.

Therefore, I can infer that prayer is not simply something I am allowed to do as a Christian; prayer is actually one of the great purposes for which God chose to save me. Christ Himself confirms this fact when He makes the following statement to His disciples: "I chose you . . . that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you." As a chosen one of God, I was saved to pray; and whenever I come into God's presence to behold Him, worship Him, or make request of Him, I am arriving at the pinnacle of God's saving purposes for me.

God is radically committed to my life of prayer. He shed the blood of His Son so that I might be cleansed and rendered fit to stand before Him in love. He also permitted the brutal rending of His Son so that I might now have a way into the Holy Place through the torn flesh of Jesus. "Draw near," He says in Hebrews 4; "draw near," He says in Hebrews 10; "pray without ceasing," He urges elsewhere. How can I not feel the infinite sincerity of these invitations, especially when considering the painful lengths that God endured so that I might enter His presence in prayer?

Indeed, the gospel itself serves as the sweetest of invitations to pray; and preaching it to myself each day nurtures within me a mighty impulse to come "before [God] in love" and do the praying that I was elected to do.

(Scriptures cited: Eph. 1:4; Ps. 100:2, 68:4; I John 5:14; John 15:16; Eph. 1:7; Rom. 5:9; Heb. 10:19-20, 4:16, 10:22; I Th. 5:17).