The Best of the Portals of Prayer

Read: Romans 5:12-21

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.”
Romans 15:13

Abundantly Filled, Purposefully Spilled

The overflowing cup in Psalm 23 is a familiar image to Christians. Paul’s letter to the Romans reminds us, “much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many” [Romans 5:15]. Yes, God’s “abundant grace” so fills us up that we “shall not want”. So now what? Anything so abundantly filled up has a natural upshot. Picture a cup full of water. When more water is added, that cup spills over – naturally.
So it is with us. God fills us up with joy and peace through His gift of grace so that we overflow with hope and joy and peace in our dealings with others. Abundant outpouring from God should produce thankful overflow in us. Unfortunately, we do not always respond that way. We fail sometimes to spill over to others with God’s gifts. But over and over again, God sends His Holy Spirit into our hearts to make us new creatures, filling our hearts so they overflow with joy and peace. God has so abundantly filled us with hope, joy, and peace that we spill the overflow into our relationships and daily life.
O God of hope, thank You for filling us with Your grace and gifts. Help us to overflow with them before those with whom we live and work. Amen.

May 09, 1960