Prayer is based entirely on the finished work of Jesus Christ. I approach my Heavenly Father in spite of myself and because of my Savior. I’m accepted in the Beloved—given the very privilege of communion that belongs to Christ, of Whom God said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17; 17:5). Through the miracle of justification, God now says that of me, entirely because of Jesus’ imputed righteousness. (I’ve written on this in the article “Start Your Prayers in Jesus’