*No  Boasting   Allowed*  

For   by   grace   you   have   been saved   through   faith.   And   this is   not   your   own   doing;   it   is the   gift   of   God,   not   a   result   of   works,   so   that   no   one  may  boast.  (Ephesians   2:8-9)

Father,

Were   it   up   to   me,   I   never   would   have   chosen   you.   My   heart   was   too   hard,   and   the shackles   of  sin   bound   me   too   tightly.   I   was   a   willful,   happy   prisoner   of   sin   and   Satan.   I   was   cheerfully
skipping   my   way   toward   Hell. I   would   have   constantly   run   from   you,   shut   my   ears   to   you,  rejected   you,   and   spit   in   your   face.   But   your   relentless,   unstoppable,   delightfully   irresistible  grace   pursued   me.   Your   grace   overcame   my   hardness,   conquered   my   insurgent   heart,   and  opened   my   eyes   to   see   the   beauty   of   Christ. You   did   the   impossible:   brought   me   from   death  to   life.   Once   blind,   now   I   see.   Once   I   was   dead,   now   I’m   alive.

By   your   explosive,   supernatural   power,   you   opened   my   eyes   to   see   my   need   for   a   savior,   and  then   you   gave   me   faith   in   the   Savior.   You   gave   me   faith   in Christ   where   there   had   once been  doubt,   skepticism,   and   outright   unbelief.   You   gave   me   love   for   Christ   where   there   had   once  been   animosity   and   hatred.   You   gave   me   spiritual   life   where   there   had   once   been   spiritual  death   and   decay.   You   breathed   life   into   my   dry,   dead   bones.   Thank   you   for   giving   me  precious,   saving   faith.   You   required   me   to   have   saving   faith   in   Christ,   then   you   gave   me   the  faith   you   required.

Lord,   let   me   never   boast   in   my   spiritual   accomplishments!Any   spiritual   good   in   my   life is  the   result   of   your   work.   Any   spiritual   fruit,   any   spiritual   life,   any   spiritual   progress,   is  because   you   blew   your   holy   fire   onto   my heart,   causing   it   to   come   alive.   All   that   I   have  accomplished,   you   have   done   for   me.

*I   will   boast,   but   only   in   Christ!   I   will   brag,   but   only in   my   God!*

*I   will   exult   in   you,   and   what  you   have   accomplished in   my   life.*

*I   will   tell   the   world   of   the God   who   makes   dead   men   come  to   life.*

*I   will   tell   the world   of   the   God   who   gives the   faith   he   requires!*

*I   will   reject   any   hope   I  have  in  my own  works,  and  I  will  loudly boast  of  the  work  of  God  in my  life.