Monday - Because He Lives

Welcome to Daily Prayer. This is Week 6 of the Because He Lives series — encounters with the risen Jesus.

Today, we begin near the end of Luke’s Gospel. The disciples are trying to make sense of everything they have seen: the cross, the empty tomb, the reports of resurrection, and now the risen Jesus standing before them. Let us quiet our hearts and minds before the Lord, anticipating a special connection with him today.

Father, we give everyone and everything to you.

Luke 24:44-46 (ESV)

44 Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with

you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms

must be fulfilled.” 45 Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, 46 and said to

them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the

dead, 47 and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to

all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 And behold, I

am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed

with power from on high.”

Word of Encouragement

Jesus tells His disciples that everything written about Him in the Law of Moses, the Prophets,

and the Psalms had to be fulfilled. In other words, the cross was not a failure. The resurrection

was not God trying to undo a failed mission. It was all part of the plan of redemption. There

are times when we see events in our lives but do not yet understand them. We see loss,

disappointment, confusion. We know the facts, but we need Jesus to open our

understanding. And while not every painful thing is directly explained to us in this lifetime, the

resurrection assures us of this: God is never defeated by what looks like defeat.

A Prayer of Adoration

Jesus, I worship you as the fulfillment of every promise of God.

You are the One the Scriptures pointed toward, the One heaven announced, the One prophets

longed to see, and the One sinners desperately need. You are the Lamb of God, the risen

King, and the promised Savior. Lord, I praise you because your Word is true. Your promises

are steady. Your purposes cannot be stopped. What you speak, you fulfill. What you begin,

you complete. You are faithful in ways I can see, and you are faithful in ways I cannot yet

understand.

A Prayer of Confession

Lord, I confess that I often interpret life only through what I can see in the moment.

When things feel painful or confusing, I am quick to assume you are absent, delayed, or

unconcerned. Forgive me for trusting my limited understanding more than your eternal

wisdom. Forgive me for the times I have allowed disappointment to make me suspicious of

your heart. There are places where I have read my circumstances without remembering your

promises. Jesus, forgive me for wanting answers more than I want you.

A Prayer of Trust

Jesus, I choose to trust that you are fulfilling your purposes, even when I cannot trace your

hand. I choose to believe that suffering is not stronger than redemption, darkness is not

stronger than light, and death is not stronger than resurrection. I place the unresolved places

of my life before you. I place the questions I cannot answer, the prayers that feel delayed, and

the stories that still feel unfinished into your hands. You fulfilled the Scriptures. You conquered

the grave. You are worthy of my trust.

Closing Prayer

During these last few moments, sit quietly before Jesus. Ask Him to open your mind to

understand His Word and plans. Ask Him to help you see your life through the truth of His

death and resurrection.

Quietly pray: “Jesus, help me trust what you have fulfilled, even while I wait for what I cannot yet understand.” Rest in His faithfulness today.