A Prayer to Prepare Our Hearts for Easter - Your Daily Prayer - March 29
Your Daily Prayer
Audio By Carbonatix
By Lynette Kittle, Crosswalk.com
A Prayer to Prepare Our Hearts for Easter
By: Lynette Kittle
Bible Reading:
“But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.” - 1 Corinthians 15:20
Each Easter Sunday, we rejoice in the resurrection of Jesus from death to life. We recognize that His resurrection isn’t just a miracle for Him, it’s a miracle for us, too. Because He rose from the grave, we will also rise.
Too often, though, we miss the hope His resurrection and the celebration of Easter bring into our lives. We focus so much on Jesus rising from the dead that we forget to rejoice in what it means for us and our eternal futures.
Jesus, the first to rise from the grave, freed from sin and death to live forevermore, is the first in history to be raised to life in a glorified body.
As the Apostle Paul explained, “But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables Him to bring everything under His control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like His glorious body” (Philippians 3:20-21).
In Bible days, believers set aside the firstfruits of their harvest as an offering to God. This act symbolized and consecrated the entire harvest to come.
Although Scripture records others being raised from the dead before Jesus, Colossians 1:18 describes Him as the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead. Those raised before Him eventually died again, but Jesus lives forever, never to die again:
“And He is the head of the body, the church; He is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything He might have the supremacy.”
Paul explains to us in Romans 6:9, “For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, He cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over Him.”
Jesus Is the Promise
Because Jesus now lives in His glorified body, He is the promise of our own glorified bodies to come.
Through His life, death, and resurrection comes the promise of a harvest of living souls who will also be raised from death to life. Jesus is the firstborn from the dead—the Son of God who rose victorious from the grave, overcoming and destroying death, breaking its power, and conquering it forever.
The Apostle John wrote, “And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by His blood” (Revelation 1:5).
Jesus Defeated Death
Matthew 27:50-53 describes Jesus defeating death once and for all, as well as the extraordinary events that took place at His crucifixion and resurrection:
“And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, He gave up His spirit. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared to many people.”
Although they would physically die again, they would live forevermore. As 1 Corinthians 15:54 explains it, “When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: ‘Death has been swallowed up in victory.’”
He said it Himself in John 11:25: “Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in Me will live, even though they die.’”
Let’s Pray:
Dear Father,
Prepare our hearts for Easter, to celebrate the risen Jesus, alive and glorified from the grave, victorious over sin and death, living forevermore and giving us the promise of eternal life with You.
Thank you that because Jesus conquered death, we will rise, too, to live with You eternally.
Fill our hearts, O Lord, with joy as we worship You, for Your unfailing love and for making a way through Jesus to redeem us as Your own, giving us life everlasting.
Embolden us to share this Good News with those who do not know You, so that they might, too, never die and be alive in Christ.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Share your reflections on today’s devotional in the Your Daily Prayer discussion on the Crosswalk Forum.
Photo Credit: Getty Images/kevron2001
Lynette Kittle is married with four daughters. She enjoys writing about faith, marriage, parenting, relationships, and life. Her writing has been published by Focus on the Family, Decision, Today’s Christian Woman, kirkcameron.com, Ungrind.org, StartMarriageRight.com, and more. She has a M.A. in Communication from Regent University and serves as associate producer for Soul Check TV.
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