Choosing to Live in God’s Grace

by Beth K. Vogt @BethVogt

I’ve been reading different books about prayer this year, thanks to my One Word for 2022, which is “pray.” I just finished 100 Prayers Every Christian Should Know: Build Your Faith with the Prayers That Shaped History, which is published by Bethany House.

The Introduction ends with these inspiring words: “… we hope you feel drawn not only into the presence of the Almighty who loves you, but into the awareness of being one witness of many to His ongoing story of redemption.”

Do I recommend this book? Absolutely. The various prayers by such notable historical figures as American composer Fanny Crosby, American evangelist Dwight L. Moody, and American TV host and minister Fred Rogers, stretch across centuries to give us a wide expression of faith.

However, one brief phrase from a prayer by Blaise Pascal included early in the book has influenced me more than any other prayer I’ve read. 

Pascal was a mathematician and philosopher born in France in 1623. Pascal’s full prayer is beautiful, but his words in the very first line is what I lasered in on: The year of grace 1654 …

Next to these words, I noted: Pascal was acknowledging he lived in grace. 

Isn’t that an remarkable mindset? 

Since reading Pascal’s prayer back in January, I’ve adopted his style of dating things. Entries in my prayer journal, birthday cards, or any kind of handwritten correspondence? Each are dated with the words “the year of grace 2022 …”

While no one else may notice my new habit, I notice the phrase every time I write out the date. In doing so, I’m centering my heart and my mind on the truth that I daily live in God’s grace.

Writers, we are creatives who live under the pressure of deadlines, both personal and professional. Think about how purposefully framing your life in grace, day in and day out, would change your life.

Consider taking a piece of paper and writing out the words: the year of grace 2022. Post it somewhere you can see it every day. Whenever you read those words, embrace the truth you live in God’s grace. Every. Single. Day. 

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Choosing to Live in God's Grace, insight from @BethVogt on @EdieMelson (Click to Tweet)

Beth K. Vogt believes God’s best often waits behind the doors marked “Never.” Having authored nine contemporary romance novels and novellas, The Best We’ve Been, the final book in Beth’s Thatcher Sisters Series with Tyndale House Publishers, releasers May 2020. Other books in the women’s fiction series include Things I Never Told You, which won the 2019 AWSA Award for Contemporary Novel of the Year, and Moments We Forget. Beth is a 2016 Christy Award winner, a 2016 ACFW Carol Award winner, and a 2015 RITA® finalist. An established magazine writer and former editor of the leadership magazine for MOPS International, Beth blogs for Learn How to Write a Novel and The Write Conversation and also enjoys speaking to writers group and mentoring other writers. Visit Beth at bethvogt.com.