Prayers of the Righteous

Well as many of you would know if you've read my other postings on my website about the healing that took place this last week I find this is very suitable for this weeks verse! We'll look at James 5:15-16 "Such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make you well. And if you have committed any sins, you will be forgiven. Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective." The last phrase "the prayer of a righteous person is powerful" was all that was going through my mind this last weekend when I was walking and running without pain on my foot. It was so incredible to go from having complete discomfort and unbearable pain and then literally like 4 hours later the pain began to subside and each moment on it continually got better. I have never experienced anything quite like that in my life and I will proclaim to everyone that it was a miracle!! I'm not ashamed to say it! There are a few things in these verses that I want to point out. Like in the first line, "a prayer offered in faith" that is something that we must have when we pray. We cannot effectively pray without faith. God desires us to have extreme faith, faith that is beyond all human explanation. Our faith can determine whether something happens or not. When we offer up a prayer in absolute faith, believing that the impossible is able and will take place God moves! He loves when we belief beyond what are simple minds even say possible. God honors those people that faithfully pray and seek Him with complete confidence that they will be heard and that their request isn't to difficult for God. Another point is the fact of confessing our sins to each other. Why would we want to do that??!!! There is power in that my dear friend. When we can humble ourselves and admit our faults to one another that brings a huge smile upon God's face. We are saying look, I'm not perfect this is what I've done, please join me in prayer for God to release me from this sin and heal the void I have created between Him and I. THAT IS WHERE THINGS BEGIN TO HAPPEN SPIRITUALLY!! God loves the humble people and He honors them and a humble heart mixed with a faithful prayer is one powerful prayer. God turns His ear to that! He desires intimacy, honesty, openness, and humility in our relationships with Him and others. I am encouraged in knowing those that the Lord led me to share my situation with were people that faithfully prayed for my healing. They truly were righteous and their powerful prayers were answered and I feel it with each step I take!!

This week I challenge you to look into your heart, and really seriously ask yourself how much faith are you applying to your prayers. Are you praying with a passion and a confidence that your requests will be heard and done? Or are you simply coming to God tired, preoccupied, and only stating what you want and think you need and totally forgetting to lift up others or even show any respect for God. Are you filling your prayer with faith or just saying a memorized prayer because its something you do daily and cross it off your list of things I must do to be a good Christian? There are complete differences and I want to challenge you to take your prayers to a whole new level and see how God responds!