Therefore confess your sins
to each other and
pray for each other so that
you may be healed.
The prayer of a righteous person
is powerful and effective
James 5:16
Bible Rank: 59
Do you want your prayers to be more effective?
Do you want them to be ... powerful?!!
Absolutely!
So what's the secret -- stated in this verse to more power and greater efficacy? Righteousness.
My first reaction when hearing the word "righteous" is that if we want better results in our prayers, we ought to behave better. Hmmm. Is that what being righteous really means?
Righteousness does lead to better behavior, but ultimately, righteous is a matter of the heart! A right heart leads to right action. Why? Because a right heart loves God and delights in his ways.
And when we delight in God's ways, we tend to be in the right place at the right time. We're caring about the right things. We're loving neighbor. We're serving the kingdom. We're less selfish and less distracted. We're aligned with God's purposes. And because of that alignment, we're praying for what God is already desiring to do. Indeed, the more we align with God's priorities, the more we see him work.
It works like this: God gave dominion (rulership) to human beings. As a gentleman, God often waits for permission to intervene. So when we pray in accord with his purposes, that's often when he will choose to act and intervene.
And when we don't pray, he often sits and waits and grieves with you over the lack of power.
Give God permission to act in and around you.
In Christ's Love,
a guy who wants to be
more righteous and effective
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