READ: EPHESIANS 1:7-9; 2:1-10; 3:14-21

When I was young, I didn’t realize the extent of God’s grace. As a child, I prayed over and over asking God to forgive me for my sins. I thought maybe it took a special kind of prayer to be saved from sin and death, and I wanted to make sure I said it. I knew that God loved me, but I just didn’t realize how big His love was.

Now I can see God’s love much better, even though it’s still hard to fathom. God knew that I needed to be saved from my sins, so He sent His Son Jesus to live among us and ultimately die on the cross. And then, He rose from the dead, defeating sin and death forever. God knew I couldn’t be perfect and wouldn’t make it on my own, so He made the way through Jesus Christ, His perfect Son.

Jesus is the way and the only way. I can’t get there on my own. No prayer I say is good enough to earn a place in God’s eternal kingdom. Nothing I could do could get me there. It’s only through His grace that I am saved.

Once I have confessed my sin and, by faith in Jesus, accepted the gift He offered in His death on the cross, I am free from my sins. I am a new creation. The old me is gone, and the new me is washed in His blood and covered with His grace.

When I was young, I worried that my prayer would somehow wear off or that God would no longer forgive me if I did this or that. Now I know that His love is so much greater than I imagined then, and His grace is big enough to cover me. • Bethany Acker

• Have you ever worried that your prayers are not enough? Have you ever begged God over and over to save you? You may have heard that works can’t save us, but have you ever thought of prayer (or saying “the right prayer”) as a work? Anytime we find ourselves relying on something we do instead of something God does, He invites us to turn back to Him and rely on His grace. We can rest in His steadfast love, knowing that Jesus has already done the work of saving us.

• Grace is sometimes defined as “unmerited favor” or “getting what we don’t deserve.” God’s grace is amazing—He freely gives us eternal life even though we could do nothing to earn it. If you want to know more about this grace and what it means to be saved through Jesus, who is a trusted Christian in your life you could talk to? (You can also find out more on our “Know Jesus” page.)

• If you want to dig deeper, read John 3:16; 14:6; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Revelation 7:14.

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you…” 2 Corinthians 12:9a (CSB)