powerful prayer

"So He [Jesus] Himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed."

Luke 5:16

Even Jesus Himself prayed to His Father, God.  What a perfect example He laid for us.

I know that I've talked about prayer before, but I can't seem to get over the power that I have personally discovered in prayer.  If we pray in faith, it becomes a direct link between us and God.  It has become, for me, second-nature to just talk to the Lord about everything within the quietness of my heart, wherever I am.  Although often, like Jesus did, I have to get away.  I live in the country, so there's plenty of places not far away to go to find a quiet moment with the Lord.

Recently, I was reading a verse that I've known by memory almost all my life, but this time, God showed it to me in a different light.

"Confess your trespasses to one another and pray for one another that you may be healed.  

The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much."

James 5:16

So, the three guidelines given for powerful prayer are:

Effective.  Learn how to pray genuinely and according to God's will.  We can learn about God's will and how He works in different situations by reading His word.

Fervent.  Pray often! Pray, pray, pray all the time.  He's your friend.  He'll always have time for you!

Of a righteous man.  If you ever feel distant from God, the problem may be a hidden or undealt-with sin. Try with all your heart to live the pure life God has enabled and intended you to live.
He will honor this effort!

When you begin to pray effectively, fervently, and while living a righteous life, you will see how God, because of your prayer, begins to move in powerful ways!

God's answers are simple.  He will say "Yes" if  what you have requested does not conflict with His will;  He says "no"  if it does, and "wait" if He is still at work in a situation.  His will is perfect... be ready to submit to His answers.  He'll make them clear to you.  I know that!

Resurrection Day Meditations . . .

We naturally do what we feel like doing rather than what God tells us in His word to do.

On our own, we can never meet God's standards of perfection and holiness.

For all have sinned

and fall short of the glory of God.

(Romans 3:23)

Sin has consequences.

God offers mercy and pardon.

 

The [penalty for] sin is death,

but the free gift of God is eternal life

in Christ Jesus our Lord.

(Romans 6:23)

Everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. . .

[but] if the Son, [Jesus], sets you free,

you will be free indeed.

(John 8:34,36)

God, our Creator, loves us and wants us to experience 

the joy of knowing Him.

He made this possible through His Son.

God loved the world so much,

that He gave His only Son,

that whoever believes in Him

should not perish but have eternal life.

(John 3:16)

[Jesus Christ is] the resurrection and the life.

Whoever believes in [Him] . . . shall never die.

(John 11:25-26)

It is not enough to simply acknowledge the existence of God and Christ.

We must let go of our selfish pursuits and seek only after Him!

Christ was raised from the dead [so that] we . . .

might walk in newness of life.

(Romans 6:4)

lean not!

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, and he shall direct your paths.”

Proverbs 3:5-6 are two verses I have know for as long as I can remember. I’ve come across them frequently in Christian books over the years and quoted them myself often enough but somehow I never fully comprehended at least a portion of their’ meaning until lately. The phrase “lean not on your own understanding” is what I have suddenly been brought face to face with. …“lean not”… Really?? That means when God tells me to trust in Him with all my heart there are going to be times that trust goes against my own comprehension, interpretation, and knowledge? Wait! You mean God might want me to trust Him when He tells me to reach out to someone in love even when I “know” they are just going to respond with hate? You mean God might lead me to trust Him and go ahead and take that job with lower pay even though that is an “unwise” financial decision because that is where He wants me? You mean the way in which God calls me to prepare for my future might look silly or even dumb to every one else and even to me sometimes but if that is what He wants I am suppose to trust Him and do it anyway? Wow! But really isn’t that what we see in the Bible? Think about Gideon in Judges 6 and 7. It is an amazing story, I wish time a space permitted me to retell all of it here, but I encourage you to read it for yourself if you have not lately! God carved down Gideon’s army to a tiny 300 men and then lead them in victory against the host of Midianites with trumpets, pitchers and lamps as their weapons. Think of how many times Gideon had to not lean on his own understanding as God told him to send more and more of his men home and then instructed him to arm his warriors with such seemingly useless weapons. Would you have had the faith to obey? Would I? Then there is Joshua whom God told him to march around the city of Jericho and the walls would fall flat. What if he had said “oh come on, that’s impossible! and besides we would look incredibly silly!” O.K maybe he would not have used that exact vocabulary … but how many of us say that in our hearts when faced with some of God’s commandments? The Bible is full of people who had to trust God despite the fact that the circumstances made that trust look crazy and even dangerous and I can‘t think of one time God failed!

So let’s think about this in reference to our own lives. It doesn’t have to look great to our own understanding or to everyone else we just need to acknowledge God and He will direct us. Isn’t that freeing? Will you join me today in asking the Lord to show us the areas where we are leaning on the wrong thing? Ask Him to help you to trust in Him instead. After all isn’t it better having the all powerful all knowing God directing our paths…rather than trying to do it all by ourselves?