“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20)
I want to start this blog by asking; How is your devotional life? How much time do you dedicate to prayer, reading scripture, and your intimacy with the Lord daily? It is impossible to succeed in spiritual warfare or any other area within the Christian life if you have a weak relationship with Jesus.
How many people have allowed their devotional life to become monotonous, hurried, religious, and lacking power? When we relate with God, we cannot tell him: “Lord, I only have 5 minutes because I must go to work and I’m running late. Bless me, prosper me, and help me on this day, amen.” These prayers are not a devotional life; they’re senseless phrases that do not reach God’s heart.
I know what the power of prayer is and how to move the spiritual atmosphere, but I also know that everything that happens in our life depends on what we do in the morning in prayer.That your first determination may be to have a solid fundament (devotional life) that will allow you to maintain a permanent relationship of love and intimacy with the Author of Life. Your eternal destination depends on this decision; power is obtained through prayer, firmness, holiness, and the strength to keep moving forward.
The Cross of Jesus is the only bridge that connects us with the Father.
One of the most common questions I get when speaking about a devotional life is: “How should I begin my prayer in the morning?” I think what’s most important during a morning prayer is to know how to connect with God; it’s not just to burst out words before Him; instead, it is to understand that we need to connect with the Lord and that this must take us to intimacy; If you don’t do so, your words will not go past the ceiling.
The axis of prayer is the cross; it is the only bridge that can connect us with God. All our provision and everything we need is there. All the prayers that do not connect with the cross are in vain. That is why some people can last long periods praying but come out feeling as if they hadn’t prayed at all.
This brings us to the common question, “how can I connect with the Cross during my prayer?” The answer to this is very simple and direct, the best way to connect with the cross is through the Word of God.
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”(Hebrews 13:8). This passage teaches us that everything the Lord does is eternal, not within the temporary, but what does this mean? The cross is not something that happened; although it happened more than two thousand years ago, it remained once and forever, stopped in a continuous present and available for each believer that wants to get close to it.
There are a couple of chapters of the Word of God that particularly condense the fullness of the redeeming work of the cross. I would like for you to pray with them and declare them each morning; in this way you will be able to connect with Jesus and enter into this time of intimacy with the Father, for example, Psalms 22 or Isaiah 53.
The cross is the place where the Lord took all the evil that we are and gave us the opportunity to access all the goodness He is and has for us.
“Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.” (Matthew 16:24)