PRAYER.
Effectual,
fervent—this describes HOW.
Of a righteous man—this describes
WHO.
God chooses to work according to the prayers of His righteous
chosen ones. (James 5:16; see previous post)
But
WHY? Why does God want us to pray? Why does He command us to bring
our requests before Him (Philippians 4:6)? We, who in our sinful,
degenerate condition have neither right nor motivation to approach
the Holy One of Israel and commune with the Holy God; the great 'I
AM;' Yahweh.
Out
of the abundance of His steadfast love (Psalm 69:13) He commands His
children to come (Matthew 11:28)! He desires fellowship with us. He
delights in it. He
is glorified by it.
And
because He loves us, He gives us the confidence and the ability
through His Son to approach the throne of grace (Hebrews 4:16).
Hebrews
10:12-19 explains:
When Christ had offered for all time
a single sacrifice for sins, He sat down at the right hand of God . .
. For by a single offering he . . . perfected for all time those who
are being sanctified.
Where there is forgiveness of
[sins], there is no longer any offering for sin . . .
Therefore
. . . we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of
Jesus.
SO
. . .
Because
. . .
Christ offered the ultimate sacrifice for sins,
is now seated at the right hand of God (12),
and has perfected forever those who are being sanctified
(14),
and
because . . .
the Holy Spirit has sealed the covenant for us (15-17)
and
because . . .
God has forgiven our sins (17-18)
then .
. .
I
have confidence to
enter the holy place as a priest before God and to fulfill my
responsibilities to my Creator (19).
But
we cannot come as we are. Prayer transports us into the very
presence of our pure and holy God. In Old Testament times, only the
priests were permitted into the holy place to stand before God. Just
as they cleansed their bodies with water before approaching Him, we
must 'wash [ourselves] and make [ourselves] clean' (Isaiah 1:16).
Hebrews
10:22 tells us to
'draw near with
a true heart
in
full
assurance
of faith, with
our hearts sprinkled clean from
an evil conscience and
our
bodies washed
with pure water.'
We
are commanded to draw near and fellowship with God, to talk with Him
and enjoy Him. But we must do this on God's terms, not ours.
So
what are God's terms?
We
must come with a true
heart.
That is, a heart that is undivided in its affections, fully devoted
to God, sincerely seeking and faithfully serving.
Purify
[make true]
your hearts, you double-minded.
(James
4:8c)
We
must come fully
assured
that God will fulfill His promises. This means forsaking sinful
distrust and being confident in our belief
that God's promises are true. We cannot be transformed if we are not
assured of
God's power and ability. By our faith, He is glorified.
And
without faith it is impossible to please Him,
for
whoever would draw near to God must
believe
that He exists and that
He rewards those who seek Him.
(Hebrews
11:6)
But
let him ask in faith, with
no doubting,
for
the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and
tossed by the wind.
For
that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the
Lord;
he
is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
(James
1:6-8)
We
must come with our hearts sprinkled
clean from
every guilt, fear, and fleshly perversion, from every selfish motive
and deed. We must acknowledge
that the
blood of Christ atones for every sin and triumphs over every fleshly
vice, allowing us to do what is right in the sight of God.
His
divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and
godliness
through
the knowledge of Him who called us to His own glory
and excellence,
by
which He has granted to us His precious and very great promises,
so
that through them you may become partakers of the
divine nature,
having
escaped from the corruption that
is in the world because of sinful desire.
(2
Peter 1:3-4)
But
thanks be to God, who gives us the victory
through
our Lord Jesus Christ.
(I
Corinthians 15:57)
We must come
washed with pure water. Just
as the Old
Testament priests were required to wash before making intercession in
the presence of God, we must confess and be cleansed from sin.
When
you come to appear before [God]. . .
Wash
yourselves;
make
yourselves clean;
remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes;
cease to do evil, learn to do good . . .
though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red like crimson,
they shall become like wool.
(Isaiah 1:12, 16, 18)
Who shall ascend the hill of the LORD?
And who shall stand in His holy place?
He
who has clean
hands and a pure heart,
who does not lift up his soul to what is false
and does not swear deceitfully.
(Psalm 24:3-4)
Cleanse
your hands,
you sinners.
(James
4:8b)
So
come, draw near to Him, be cleansed and purified as a priest before
Him. Live righteously and offer up your effectual fervent prayers to
God who alone offers salvation and hope, and to whom alone belongs
power and steadfast love (Psalm 62).
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