The Prayer of the Righteous!

(James 5:16) “The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.”

It is now rather obvious that if we can with all our hearts confess Jesus as Lord, if our eyes have been open to His perfect work, then we are covered by the blood of the Lamb. Peter says it like this; “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” (1Peter 2:9) – He has chosen as He has willed, God is in control but now with that comes some serious attachments; a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His own possession, why? So that we may publicly state Him as brilliant and confess to others how we have been saved from darkness into this marvelous new found light. It glorifies our great God!

Yet with that said there will also be those who claim to have been called by God and yet have not. As we know many will come on that day and say Lord, Lord have I not done such as such in your name and our great Saviour’s response is very sobering; “depart from me you workers of iniquity” (Mat 7:23)

So sin or wickedness seems to be the hinging factor. Do not for one second think that Satan and his fellow-workers do not understand their objective, which is, to get all those who are chosen by God to sin and walk once again in darkness. How will we speak of this marvelous light if we live in sin, many do, I have in times past said one thing and yet still lived a life of darkness. Even now with self-examination I am found wanting in many areas of life. I do not say we must look to address cares that have not yet raised their head. That in itself is sin! The Lord teachers that tomorrow will take care of itself, it is today alone I wish to examine in my life; I trust you too will do the same. If we chew off more than that, we will be in dire straits as our mind throws out accusation one after the other, leaving us in a bundle of hopelessness as the giants in our lives seems to overshadow the work of our brilliant Redeemer on Calvary. That though will and can only ever take effect in our minds, as Christ’s work is perfect and will forever stand the test of time and much more. The ememy is well aware of that fact so the only way he can get us to fall is to sin, which in turn means to walk in darkness, thus leaving a shadow of doubt on our effectual calling. All he needs to do is get us to walk in unbelief?

It is one thing to walk as victorious Christians and there are times in our lives where everything seems to be on track. I recall some of those glorious moments, but I will confess that I have more often than not walked in constant warfare endeavouring to do what is right, but mostly fail. My objective with this blog post was to substitute it for my hand written daily journal and with that said I must then be as brutally honest with myself as I was then and call a spade a spade. Some say we should be more concealed with our struggles, but I am not convinced. If I do not disclose my fight how then will we who experience similar warfare know how to pray for one another? James gives us clear instruction; “Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.” (James 5:16) – That does not speak of secrecy! It demands our dependency on the effectual prayer of one another; it takes out that “Lone Wolf McQuade” type of mentality. We need one another!   

This is the arena I am forced to do much fighting and thinking in. I often hear the bell sound while still on my back. That is why yesterday I started my blog like this; “I wonder if sometimes I over-think certain things.” Maybe this will help you understand a little clearer how my mind works and where I often find myself at war. I believe the Apostle Peter was well aware of this struggle; I do not for one minute wish to compare myself with him as there would be no comparison. He was far more faithful and had a far larger portion to contend with; however what I will say is he instructs us on what we must be on the lookout for and this is his instruction:- “Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.” (1Peter 2:11) 

This is in itself a vast subject, and it will cover many areas of our lives, we know where we struggle, but let us remember to share our struggles with one another so that we can faithfully pray for one another, as this is God’s design for His people. Let us remember that the devil goes around like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. Let us always recall the Apostle John’s teaching; “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world--the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions--is not from the Father but is from the world.” (1John 2:15-16)

Let the Apostle James leave us with a balance to our deliberation; “Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am being tempted by God," for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.” (James 1:13-15) 

Let be sober in our deliberation and see the truth for what it is...

Signing off

Tyrone