A Prayer about Why the Gospel is Such Good News

The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Mark 1:1

Good Father,

Our world seems to be drawn to bad news, 

so much so that we can even watch it 24 hours a day on TV, on our phones, on our tablets.

And yet, our souls truly long for good news, 

and your gospel is precisely that. 

The word gospel literally translates as “good news.” 

This good news is “of Jesus Christ,” 

meaning it belongs to Jesus the Messiah, 

the King of your kingdom. 

This good news is also about Jesus Christ. 

It is true that it is [almost] unbelievably good news, 

for the story goes that you sent your Son, 

a divine King,

into the world as a human baby 

born from a virgin’s womb. 

But not only that, you sent your Son, 

your sinless Son, 

who perfectly satisfied you, 

as the Savior for your sinful people, 

who could never satisfy you. 

Good Father, help us to grasp this truth—

we could never earn your love. 

We could never pay the debt of our sin. 

Nothing we have done in our lives 

makes us good enough to be forgiven. 

And in that is the amazingly good news: 

“For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, 

so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Cor. 5:21). 

Father, how we thank you for your goodness to us in Christ. 

May we live in gratitude for this good news, 

and may we share it with everyone we meet.

In Jesus’ good name. Amen.

Read Mark 1:1-11.