Don't Lose Hope

1 Life Is Not Always Easy

All of us begin life’s journey with many dreams, goals, ambitions and aspirations. With a great sense of excitement, we make plans about what we want to do, where we wish to go and what we want to become in life. But somewhere along the journey, we are sure to run into some stormy weather. Life is not always easy. We often wish that life was as simple as a storybook, but it does not always turn out that way! Unexpected challenges, difficulties and circumstances crop up along the way. It is during such times that our goals and dreams seem to slip away. Sometimes, we find ourselves in the midst of situations that seem almost hopeless. We tend to lose hope. We tend to give up. We begin to think, “I will never be able to make it” or “I will never be able reach my goals.” We despair about ever being able to reach our goals.

Sometimes, life takes an unexpected twist, and circumstances that we were totally unprepared for present themselves. We may find ourselves at the end of the road with nowhere to turn. Some of you, reading this book, may be right in the middle of a hopeless situation. It could be something to do with your job, career, education, home, marriage or family. So many things in life could have gone wrong. But let me encourage you that the God of the Bible specializes in giving life to the dead—to situations and circumstances that seem dead and hopeless. He specializes in turning hopeless situations around. Amen! With Him on your side, you can hope against hope. Even when everything seems hopeless, you can come out a winner. This book brings simple words of encouragement and exhorts us not to lose hope.

The importance of having hope

Having hope is extremely important. By “hope,” we mean anticipation, expectation, something we look forward to, a desire, a dream or an aspiration. One of the important aspects of a Christian’s life is hope. The Bible mentions three things that are important in our Christian walk; one of them is hope.

1 Corinthians 13:13

And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

2 Hope—An Essential Part of Our Christian Life

As believers, we hope for many things that are yet to come.

The hope of eternal life

We hope for eternal life. While eternal life is something we have in the spirit, it is also something we look forward to.

The hope of glory

Colossians 1:27

To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

Christ in us is our hope of glory. He is our hope for life in the world to come, a world that is far better than what we are presently in. We look forward to our time with God in His presence in heaven.

The hope of salvation

1 Thessalonians 5:8

But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation.

1 Peter 1:7-9

7 that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, 8 whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, 9 receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls.

While salvation begins now, there is also that part of our salvation to which we look forward.

The hope of Christ’s return

Titus 2:13

looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,

The hope of the resurrection

Acts 24:15

I have hope in God, which they themselves also accept, that there will be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and the unjust.

3 The Importance of Hope

It is very important to have hope in our everyday life. We must be a people full of hope even in the midst of a hopeless situation. There are several reasons why it is important to continue having hope.

Hope deferred makes the inner man weak.

Proverbs 13:12

Hope deferred makes the heart sick, But when the desire comes, it is a tree of life.

Sometimes, there are delays in receiving the things that we hope for. We expect a particular thing to be accomplished in a certain year, but even at the end of the year it may not happen. We tell ourselves that it will probably happen the following year and it may still not happen. As the thing hoped for is delayed, the inner man tends to lose hope completely and becomes weak. On the other hand, when the object of our hope arrives, it is like a tree of life. It invigorates and refreshes us. We feel refreshed and renewed. Our faith soars. We are inspired and can advance.

Hope is an anchor of the soul.

Hebrews 6:19a

This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, ...

Hope is an anchor of the soul. The word “soul” refers to the mind, will and emotions. An analogy of an anchor being dropped from a ship is used here to explain the role of hope in connection with the soul. When the anchor is dropped at sea, it brings stability in the midst of a storm. The Bible says that hope is an anchor of the soul. This means that if I do not have hope, my soul—my will, emotions and intellect—will not have the stability or strength needed during turbulent times. When people lose hope completely, the storms of life may seem too overpowering to keep sailing on. They begin to despair and give up easily. They begin to wonder if there is any reason at all for living. Thoughts of hopelessness, “Nobody cares for me,” “Everything is wrong” and “It can never become right” keep flooding their minds. At this point, many even contemplate suicide. Therefore, it is important not to lose hope even in the most difficult circumstance. Hope is an anchor of the soul.

Hope is a precursor to faith.

Hebrews 11:1

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Hope is important because faith is dependent on hope. Hope precedes faith. Only when we have hope, can we have faith. Consider a person who is terminally ill and the doctors have said that there is nothing that medical science can do to help and the person has just a few more days to live. It is likely that most people would give up all hope in such a situation. Pictures of his final moments, his last words and his funeral would fill his mind. When a person gives up hope, even faith cannot work because “faith is the substance of things hoped for.” When a person is not even hoping to be healed, it is very difficult to have faith to receive healing from God. Hope is a prerequisite to having faith in God. The sick person should at least try to envision himself recovering and walking out of his deathbed. Although the doctors may have given up, he must have hope that the God of heaven can heal and is more than willing to do so. Having hope for a complete recovery will enable faith to play its part in bringing about healing.

4 The God Who Turns Hopeless Situations Around

We need to understand that no matter what situation we may be in, no matter how hopeless the situation may seem, there is a God who specializes in turning hopeless situations around. Amen! Maybe your hopeless situation is your marriage, your job, children, finances, career, education or something else. Irrespective of what it may be, just focus on the fact that we serve a God who turns hopeless situations around. That is why we do not have to give up hope. Let us look at a few familiar examples from the Bible where God turned hopeless situations around.

The poor woman

Consider the woman whose husband died leaving her with their two sons and a huge debt (2 Kings 4:1-7). The creditors came asking for the money and were threatening to take away the children. This woman’s situation was hopeless indeed! She went to the servant of God named Elisha, described her predicament and sought help. He asked her what she had with her at home. She replied that all she had was a jar of oil. Elisha instructed her to go and get as many jars as possible and pour out the oil that she had into each jar. Miraculously, the oil multiplied and all the jars were filled with oil. Elisha then instructed her to sell the oil, pay off her debt and start afresh. God turned a hopeless situation around by miraculously providing for this woman’s needs.

The miracle at the wedding feast

The host of a wedding feast ran out of wine—a simple situation of lack but a hopeless situation, nevertheless. When they were wondering what to do, Mary the mother of Jesus told the servants at the wedding feast, to do whatever Jesus tells them to do. Jesus instructed them to fill the water pots with water and then serve it to the guests. The water supernaturally turned to wine and everyone at the wedding had enough (John 2:1-11). Another case of miraculous provision! Listening to the counsel of the Lord and doing what He says can change hopeless situations around.

The morning after a hopeless night …

A business miracle that the Lord Jesus performed is recorded for us in Luke 5. Peter with his “business partners”—James, John and Andrew—were in the fishing business. They were fishermen. On one occasion, they had spent the whole night fishing and had not caught anything. The next morning, as they returned, the Lord Jesus met them. He requested them for the use of their boat to preach to the crowd that had gathered to listen to Him. After the Word was preached, the Lord asked Peter to go back into the sea one more time and throw out his net for a big catch of fish. Peter responded, “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless, at Your word I will let down the net” (Luke 5:5). Peter knew that his efforts had not produced any results. And yet, He was willing to do what Jesus had told him to do.

One Word from the Lord turned a hopeless situation around. Peter’s implicit obedience to what the Lord Jesus said brought him a “financial miracle.”

The nation of Israel

The Jewish people had been dispersed and scattered across the whole world. A sense of hopelessness had gripped the Jewish people. In Ezekiel 37, God showed Ezekiel a valley full of dry bones to describe the condition of the people of Israel. “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They indeed say, ‘Our bones are dry, our hope is lost, and we ourselves are cut off’ (Ezekiel 37:11).

God then instructed Ezekiel to prophesy to the dry bones. “Therefore prophesy and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Behold, O My people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up from your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel” (Ezekiel 37:12). Through the prophet, God foretold the re-gathering of the Jewish people and the re-establishment of Israel as a nation. God fulfilled His Word and on May 14, 1948, Israel was declared a nation. Jews from all over the world began to return to their own land.

Therefore, God can turn around what we may consider a hopeless situation. God is willing and able to open up “graves” and give life to “dry bones” to turn situations around! There is nothing too hopeless for God.

Abraham and Sarah

Abraham and Sarah were well advanced in years when the Lord gave them a promise of a child of their own. He promised them a son and said that through this son they were going to have descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. They were in a hopeless situation when it came to having children because all these years they had not had any. Abraham was 99 years old and Sarah’s womb had been barren all along—a hopeless situation.

Here is what the Bible says about the situation.

Romans 4:17,18

17 (as it is written, “I have made you a father of many nations”) in the presence of Him whom he believed—God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did; 18 who, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations, according to what was spoken, “So shall your descendants be.”

What a great example to follow. Abraham “contrary to hope, in hope believed.” When there was no reason to have hope, Abraham still believed in hope according to what God had said. And because he believed in hope, “he became ... according to what was spoken.”

When God gives you a promise, do not ever say, “Lord, this promise is ridiculous.” It cannot be ridiculous because our God is a God who gives life to the dead. So, when God speaks a promise to you, it does not matter how hopeless the situation may seem. Just remember that this God who is speaking to you, is the same God who gives life to the dead—calls those things which do not exist as though they did—and is able to turn any kind of situation around. God can not only make a situation better, but He is able to turn it around totally! He can bring those things that were not in existence into existence. Right now, peace at home may not be in existence, but God can bring it into existence. Healing in your body may not be in existence, but God can bring it into existence. Success in your home, job or career may not be in existence, but God can bring them into existence.

5 The Basis for Having Hope in a Hopeless Situation

What is the basis for having hope in a hopeless situation? Is it just fantasy? Is it a question of mind over matter? Is it a case of being positive? Is it a humanistic approach of trying to be positive and staying positive? The reason why we can have hope even in the most difficult of circumstances is simply because of God and His Word.

Romans 4:18

who, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations, according to what was spoken, “So shall your descendants be.”

Abraham believed what God had promised, although there was no reason to believe. When the situation was hopeless, he still believed. Why? Because God had spoken! He believed in hope “according to what was spoken.” That was the basis of his hope. God had spoken and though the situation was hopeless, Abraham chose to believe against all hope.

God and His Word become the basis for the hope we have.

Psalm 38:15

For in You, O Lord, I hope; You will hear, O Lord my God.

Psalm 130:5

I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, And in His word I do hope.

Romans 15:4

For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.

God is the Reason, the Source and the Strength for our hope. His Word becomes the basis for our hope. It is because of the patience and comfort that is brought into our hearts by the Scriptures that we maintain our hope.

Hope for the future

Let us see the practical side of all that we have read so far. Some of you who are reading this may be saying, “I do not have any hope for the future” or “I do not think I am going to go very far. Nothing much is going to happen with my life.” I want you to know that because of God and because of His Word, we can have hope for the future. His Word says,

1 Corinthians 2:9

But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”

We have hope for the future. We are hopeful that we are going to see some amazing things in the future. Why? Because of God’s Word, which says that God has prepared such things for those who love Him.

Jeremiah 29:11

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.

This is the basis of our hope—the Word. So, we can keep hoping for a better future. Our present situation is no indication of our destination. We have hope that our future is going to be strong, successful and secure because of the promises He made in His Word. We will not allow our present circumstances to keep us down.

Hope of becoming a success

Some of you may be having negative thoughts and wondering if you will ever be a success in life. Everything that you have attempted may have ended up in failure and you may have been unable to succeed in anything so far. You must believe what the Word says.

Psalm 1:1-3

1 Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful; 2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord, And in His law he meditates day and night. 3 He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper.

Picture yourself like a fruitful tree. See yourself as a person who prospers in whatever you do. This is God’s Word concerning your life and don’t let any circumstance rob you of what God can do for you.

Hope of accomplishing your dreams

Some of you may have given up all hope of ever accomplishing your dreams. God’s Word says,

Psalm 37:4

Delight yourself also in the Lord, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.

I have been in situations when it seemed like I would never reach my dreams. I remember as I was growing up, I had this dream of establishing a strong church in the city of Bangalore that would impact the nations of the world. Various things happened and I found myself amidst situations that led me to think that I would never be able to accomplish my dreams. It seemed like it would just be a dream. It seemed like I would never step into it. However, I kept my hope alive because His Word says that He would give me a “future and a hope,” and He has prepared things that “eye has not seen, nor ear heard.” His Word also said that if I delighted in Him, He would give me the desires of my heart. His Word remained the same even though my situations seemed to go from bad to worse. I held on to His Word. His Word became the basis for my hope. And now, I am seeing this very dream come true. Hallelujah!

Hope for your children

Some of you may be losing hope concerning your children. Though you may have trained them up well and taught them from the Word, right now, they may be in a stage in life where they are into things that you never imagined they would get into. Perhaps they have abandoned their studies, or are into alcohol and drugs. All your training seems to have become a waste. You may be thinking that all those years of hard work that you put into them are in vain. You may be on the verge of giving up hope for your children. I want to encourage you and say, “Do not give up hope.” The Word of God says,

Psalm 112:1,2

1 Praise the Lord! Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, Who delights greatly in His commandments. 2 His descendants will be mighty on earth; The generation of the upright will be blessed.

You can say to the Lord, “I am hoping in your Word. Your Word says that my children will be mighty on this earth.” That means your children will become something on this earth. They will do something for the Kingdom of God. They will not waste away on this earth. They will make an impact for God.

Isaiah 54:13

All your children shall be taught by the Lord, And great shall be the peace of your children.

Let the verse above be the basis for your hope. Keep hoping. Maybe your child is turning a deaf ear to what you are saying today. But you can still hope, against hope, in the Word.

Hope for healing

Some of you may be suffering from sickness and disease and the doctors may have told you that there is no hope. Here is what the Word says about God.

Psalm 103:3

Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases,

That is the hope you have. Keep your hope alive. Picture yourself healed and well according to what the Bible says.

Proverbs 3:7,8

7 Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the Lord and depart from evil. 8 It will be health to your flesh, And strength to your bones.

The reverential fear that you have for God brings healing to your body.

6 What Do I Do in the Middle of a Hopeless Situation?

Romans 4:17-21

17 (as it is written, “I have made you a father of many nations”) in the presence of Him whom he believed—God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did; 18 who, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations, according to what was spoken, “So shall your descendants be.” 19 And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah’s womb. 20 He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, 21 and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform.

What do we do in the middle of a hopeless situation, so that God can turn it around? What lesson can we learn from the life of Abraham? What did he do that allowed God to turn the hopeless situation around? The Bible says that Abraham, against hope, believed that he might become what was promised to him (Romans 4:18). Will you believe that whatever God has spoken will come to pass? For instance, God’s Word says, “Whatever you do shall prosper” and you need to believe that. Will you believe?

Believe in hope that you will become according to what God has spoken.

God and His Word are one. Faith in His Word is faith in God. You have to believe against all hope. So, even when it seems hopeless, you must believe that you will become what God has promised. Do not give up hope.

Do not let the hopelessness of the situation numb your faith.

Abraham “not being weak in faith, did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah’s womb” (Romans 4:19). He did not allow his faith to weaken as he considered not the condition of his body and the circumstances around him. Do not let the hopelessness of any situation weaken your faith. Do not look around and say, “It is beyond repair.”

However, that does not mean that you must deny the circumstances. Just do not allow the reality of your circumstances to weaken your faith. Instead, you must “paint” a picture of your promised outcome on the “canvas” of your imagination. For instance, see yourself completely healed, see yourself as a success in life, see your marriage healed and restored, see your children serving God and walking in His ways. Paint such a picture based on God’s Word and look at it often!

One night, God brought Abraham out of his tent and told him to look at the stars in the skies. And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be” (Genesis 15:5b). Abraham then had a “picture” of God’s promise in his mind. He was able to “see” his descendants as numerous as the stars in the skies. Every time Abraham tended to look at the condition of his body and the deadness of his wife’s womb, he would remind himself of God’s promise to give him descendants as numerous as the stars in the skies and the sand on the seashore.

So many times, I picture myself ministering God’s Word to thousands of people. I picture our local church in five different locations in our city with congregations of many thousands in each location. So, the sight of empty chairs in the church on a Sunday morning does not weaken my faith because in my mind, I have a picture of our destination. Whatever be your current circumstances, have a picture of your destination and continue to hope

Demonstrate determination and endurance.

Another thing that we observe from Abraham’s life is that he did not stagger in unbelief (Romans 4:20). He did not stumble at the promise of God. He demonstrated determination and endurance. Along with hope, it is very essential to be determined and have endurance. Romans 8:25 says, “But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.” Although many of us hope for various things, we tend to want them immediately. The Scripture on the other hand advises us to wait patiently for things that we do not see. Do not give up easily. Wait with some patience. The apostle Paul says,

1 Thessalonians 1:3

remembering without ceasing your work of faith, labor of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the sight of our God and Father,

Hope is patient! Genuine hope that is based on the Word is patient.

Lamentations 3:26 (KJV)

It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord.

When you have true hope, there is a sense of calmness, quietness and composure. You know that it is going to come. You are not disturbed, perturbed, agitated and wanting to get everyone out of the way to get what you want. Rather, you are calm because you know what you believe will come to pass. You are determined, and you wait patiently. Determination is demonstrated by consistent obedience to God’s Word. Do not take the easy way out. It will only complicate matters further!

Keep your joy; give praise to God.

Abraham gave glory to God (Romans 4:20). When you have hope, you have joy. Because you have hope—on what the Word says—you can rejoice. There are times that you rejoice because of circumstances. But then there are also times that you rejoice in hope. Those of you who have little children know how excited they become when their birthdays approach! When Ruth, our daughter, celebrated her birthday when she was younger, she began looking forward to it from the previous week itself. She was “rejoicing in hope!” She was excited, and on the night before her birthday, she said, “Daddy, when I wake up tomorrow you must say, ‘Good morning birthday girl.’” The fact that she was going to celebrate her birthday the next day brought joy “now.” It was not her birthday yet, but she was happy because of the hope that she had. As Christians, we rejoice in hope. We rejoice that God will turn things around and our circumstances will change. We rejoice in hope.

Romans 15:13

Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 12:12

rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer;

We can abound in hope and the God of hope fills us with joy and peace. There is joy and peace that comes into our lives when we believe. Sometimes people start complaining and grumbling when the wait is too long. What they need to do is have a picture of hope. Instead of being agitated by the present circumstances, maintain a picture of hope. You will have joy and peace knowing that one day the picture will become a reality.

Psalm 42:5

Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him For the help of His countenance.

Psalm 71:14

But I will hope continually, And will praise You yet more and more.

There is a sense of joy and an ability to praise God when one has hope. Maybe even as you are reading this, you are right in the middle of a hopeless situation and are saying, “How can I be happy?” The Bible says, “Rejoice in hope!” How can we give praise to God? We can give praise to God because of the hope that we have. Today things may seem bad. Today the circumstances may be tough. But you can still praise Him because you know that these things will not last forever. The God of the Bible is the God who turns hopeless situations around. And He will do it for you. Keep your hope alive. Believe in hope.

There is a song that we used to sing. The words of this song are very encouraging.

Praise the Lord

Stanza 1

When you’re up against a struggle That shatters all your dreams And your hope has been cruelly crushed By satan’s manifesting scheme And you feel the urge within you To submit to earthly fears Don’t let the faith you’re standing in, seem to disappear

Chorus

Praise the Lord He can work through those who praise Him, Praise the Lord For our God inhabits praise, Praise the Lord For the chains that seem to bind you Serve only to remind you that they drop powerless behind you When you praise him

Stanza 2

Now satan is a liar And he wants to make us think That we are paupers When he knows himself We’re children of the King So lift up the mighty shield of faith For the battle has been won We know that Jesus Christ has risen So the work’s already done

©Imperials’ album HEED THE CALL released on Dayspring (Word) 1979 Words and Music by Brown Bannister and Mike Hudson

Maybe you are reading this book and saying, “I am in a hopeless situation.” Maybe it is your marriage, your home, children, finances, job, career or business—it could be anything in life. All of us face situations like that. I want to encourage you—DON’T LOSE HOPE. It is very important not to lose hope. When you lose hope, your inner man is weakened. When you lose hope, you become like a ship without an anchor. You are likely to start sinking. When you lose hope, it is very difficult to exercise faith because without hope you cannot have faith.

Have hope in God and in His Word. Recollect what God has spoken concerning your life. What is the promise of God concerning your home and marriage? Hold on to the promises that you have received. Make His Word the reason for your hope. Because God has said it, you can still have hope that your circumstances will change. Have a picture in your mind of what it would be like when the promises of God come to pass. This will help you keep your hopes alive.

God is “able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us” (Ephesians 3:20).

7 Do You Know the GOD Who Loves You?

About 2000 years ago, God came into this world as a man. His name is Jesus. He lived a perfectly sinless life. Since Jesus was God in flesh, everything He said and did revealed God to us. The words He spoke were the very words of God. The things He did were the actions of God. Jesus did many miracles on the earth. He healed the sick and suffering. He opened blind eyes, unstopped deaf ears, made the lame to walk and healed every kind of sickness and disease. He fed the hungry by miraculously multiplying a few loaves of bread, calmed the storm and did many other wonderful things.

So why then would God decide to become a man and step into our world? Why did Jesus come?

All of us have sinned and done things that are unacceptable before the God who created us. Sin has its consequences. Sin is like a great unsurpassable wall between God and us. Sin separates us from God. It prevents us from knowing and having a meaningful relationship with the One who created us. Therefore, many of us try to fill this void with other things.

Another consequence of our sins is eternal separation from God. In God’s court, the penalty for sin is death. Death is eternal separation from God in hell.

But the good news is that we can be free from sin and be restored to God. The Bible says, “For the wages [payment] of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23). Jesus paid for the sins of the whole world when He died on the cross. Then, three days later He rose again, showed Himself alive to many and then went back into heaven.

God is a God of love and mercy. He does not wish that any person be lost in hell. And so, He came to provide a way for the entire human race to be free from sin and its lasting consequences. He came to save sinners—to rescue people like you and me from sin and eternal death.

To receive this free forgiveness of sins, the Bible tells us that we have to do just one thing—accept what the Lord Jesus Christ did on the cross and to believe in Him wholeheartedly.

You too can receive forgiveness and cleansing for your sins if you will believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.

The following is a simple prayer to help you decide to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and what He has done for you on the cross. This prayer will help you express your acceptance of what Jesus has done for you and receive forgiveness and cleansing for your sins. This prayer is only a guideline. You can also pray in your own words.

Dear Lord Jesus, today, I have understood what You did for me on the cross. You died for me, you shed Your precious blood and paid the penalty for my sins so that I could be forgiven. The Bible tells me that whoever believes in You will receive forgiveness for their sins.

Today, I decide to believe in You and to accept what You did for me by dying for me on the cross and rising again from the dead. I know I cannot save myself by my own good works, neither can any other human save me. I cannot earn forgiveness for my sins.

Today, I believe in my heart and say with my mouth that You died for me, You paid the penalty for my sins, You rose again from the dead, and by faith in You, I receive forgiveness and cleansing for my sins.

Thank You Jesus. Help me to love You, to know You more and to be faithful to You. Amen.