Episode 43: 1 Peter 2:24
Transcription
Today’s verse is 1 Peter 2:24
He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by His wounds you have been healed.
Let’s pray together.
Jesus, now is the time for acknowledging the sacrifice that You made for us. We are so grateful, not only for what You did, for the time You spent on earth, and for the death, but for the ability to say thank you. I want to always be aware of and thankful for the Cross.
You became human for us. Sometimes I take a look at myself and those around me, at the limitations and the suffering, and the inherent evil and ask why anyone would want this. Yet, I still know You created us and You meant us for Yourself. In fact, we are each pieces of You, reflecting tiny parts of a Godhead I cannot understand. It was still a big sacrifice to go from God to man and I thank you for it.
I thank You that this decision was made from eternity. It was not a desperate gambit to fix the mistakes of Adam and Eve. It was not a random decision made in time. This was always Your plan. You were always going to do this for us. All, Father, Son, and Spirit, united in a quest to save their creation. We didn’t deserve it, but You are always so intentional with us.
This decision was hard and bloody and painful and agonizing. There was nothing easy about the Cross. But it was necessary because there was no other way for us to be reunited with You. This was such a personal event, everything bent on one Person, who felt everything with such vivid understanding that I cannot comprehend it. It was also a universal event, when all of history and time hung there with You, reliant on Your sacrifice.
It was for us, for me. It was to wash away the grime and grit of my sins, even the little things I barely noticed, so desensitized have I become to sin’s effect on me. Anything that would keep us apart from You was considered. All hatred, every lie, all selfishness, every violent act, all rebellion and pride. This was all totally and completely rendered void in the tide of your crimson blood. You died there on the Cross and now we enter into the death with you. We volunteer our old ways, laying them down at Your nail-scarred feet, and we say, ‘yes, we want to identify with this noble and just act.’
It doesn’t end there, of course. Thank You, Jesus, that it doesn’t end there. We are forgiven and we are set free and we have unity with You again. And we live for righteousness. We turn our backs on the sin and the death and the petty desires of ourselves. Now, we live by Your code, the truth of all the universe, and we deny anything else. God, help me when I try to backtrack. I am so guilty of trying to pick up my sin and live in what was normal before You.
This world is still full of temptation and despair and pitfalls. Our feet are tired and dusty and bleeding from attempting to follow You. But we have this hope, this knowledge, this redeeming grace to hold on to. It is done. You finished the work. We live in the in between, but You know it is complete for all time. So lift us up to that knowledge. Bolster us when we stumble. Carry us when we are weary. Protect us when we are surrounded. Embolden us when we are afraid.
And heal us. Jesus, Your wounds were the vessel of healing to us. We all have deep and raw places of stripes. They might be mental, emotional, physical, or spiritual, but there are all real. You can see them, Jesus, see the jagged edges and festering sores and the stuffed-down-deep pain we try to ignore. Don’t let us remain so, Jesus, please bring Your healing. Cover us with a mighty wave of that healing blood, poured from the wounds You sustained so we might be whole.
We declare this today. You are a God of healing. This might not always mean a miracle, though we still ask for them, but no prayer goes unanswered when we ask for healing. It is available and it is mighty. So we pray for it today. We pray for the sick, for the injured. We pray for the hungry and the impoverished. We pray for the mind and the soul and the body. Whatever your ailment is today, lift it up to Jesus. Do not let His wounds be in vain for your sake. Instead, surrender and believe. Ask for the blessing He longs to pour out. Pray for yourself and pray for others.
We pray for strength and we pray for resources. We pray for pain relief. We pray for helping hands. We pray for mobility. We pray for comfort in our spirits. We pray for the obliteration of despair and depression. We pray for a renewing of corrupted cells and connection of broken synapses. We pray for peace and wholeness from trauma. We pray for wisdom and discernment and skill and rest for those who spend their lives in healing. We pray for awareness of our own minds and bodies and the courage to ask for help. We pray against injury and we pray against chronic illness. We pray against the root of all disease. We pray for what we do not know to pray for and we pray for Your will for each of us.
There is nothing broken You cannot fix. We praise You and give thanks to you in advance for the healing power You are going to pour over us in response to our prayers. Thank You again for the blood You shed for our spiritual and physical healing.
I pray this in Jesus’ powerful and almighty name. Amen.
