Prayer thoughts 2
James 5:15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.
The righteous pray
The words effectual fervent are one word in the Greek and it is where we get our word “energy”. So, when James says the effectual, fervent prayer, it is one that is active and one that works .It is not just saying a prayer, but really praying with vested interest and power (in the Spirit). He also says the “righteous” which indicates our standing before God (1 Jn 1:7) and our present walk in this life. We are righteous in Christ, but we also do works of righteousness. (Psa 34:15). If our prayer avails much, what then shall we pray for? As we look at the epistle of James we see several things.
What to pray for
We will be a blessing – ask God to help us be a blessing to others especially with our speech (James 3:8, 10; Col 4:6). Solomon tells us some interesting things about the tongue (Prov 18:21; 10:19-21), so when we ask God to help us be a blessing we are asking Him to help us with our tongue. We can also be a blessing by helping another, encouraging or just being there to listen to their cry or complaint.
We will be sweet not sour -- This would also be a prayer relating to our tongues, however, it will also be one that affects our countenance and heart purity (James 3:11, 12; Eph 4:31).
We will be a good influence – If we desire to be a good influence, we will be gentle and peaceable (James 3:17). This also is a matter of heart purity and it will mean that we are asking God to cleanse us of any and everything that is not in accord with His nature. Those who are a bad influence are opposite of this (James 3:14-16). The devil always points out the bad influence of people to the unsaved, so our duty is to be of better influence than those of bad. The ultimate goal is to be like Jesus and this means submitting to God in all things (James 4:7-8).
Useless prayers
The Bible tells us that there are some prayers that God hates; yea they even become sin (Psa 109:7; Prov 28:9). When someone deliberately turns away from hearing God’s word, preferring his/her own way over God’s, and asks God for blessing and/or direction, his prayer becomes presumptuous; and God hates such prayers. That person should not be surprised that God does not answer their prayer (Isa 59:1-2). None of us is sinlessly perfect so we should ask God to search our hearts for any unknown sin (Psa 139:24), then confess anything He shows us, forsake it, then seek cleansing from the root and go on living for Him. It is vital to know and obey God’s word and dangerous to turn away from hearing it (1 Pet 3:12).