The Put God First Challenge

Day 1: The Gift of Salvation

John 3

Romans 3

Ephesians 1

Isaiah 53

Prayer

Heavenly Father,

I come before You in awe of Your mercy and grace, knowing that it is not by my own righteousness but by Your unfailing love that I stand redeemed. As Your Word declares, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23), I acknowledge my need for the salvation You so freely give.

Lord, I thank You for the gift of Your Son, Jesus Christ, who bore my iniquities upon Himself. As Isaiah prophesied, “He was pierced for our transgressions; He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on Him, and by His wounds we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5). Through His sacrifice, the debt of my sin has been paid in full.

I rejoice in the truth of the Gospel, that “God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). Your love is beyond comprehension, and yet You have poured it out abundantly, not because of my works, but because of Your mercy.

Father, Your Word reminds me that “it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). I humbly receive this gift, knowing that nothing I do could ever earn the salvation You have so graciously given.

I praise You that, in Your kindness, You saved me, “not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3:5). Lord, renew me daily by Your Spirit, that I may walk in the newness of life You have granted me.

Let my heart never grow weary of proclaiming Your goodness. Let my life be a testimony to the grace that saved me, and may I live in the assurance that my salvation is secure in Christ. Strengthen my faith, O God, that I may trust fully in the finished work of Jesus, who alone is my righteousness.

I pray this in the name of my Savior and King, Jesus Christ, Amen.