A Moving Prayer

Prayer Journey cont’d:

David built there an altar to the Lord and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. Thus the Lord was moved by prayer for the land, and the plague was held back from Israel. (2 Samuel 24).

David sinned by disobeying God, and God sent a pestilence to the land, and many people died.  I can’t imagine knowing that because of my mistake, many other people died. I’m not even sure I could live with that knowledge.

However, David repented, acknowledged that it was he who had sinned and not the people, and he prayed.

God responds to godly repentance, true sorrow for wrongs, and compassion for others.

Because David realized his sin and obeyed a command to build an altar to the Lord, and then prayed for the people who were being affected by David’s sin, the verse above says,

…”the Lord was moved…”

And furthermore, “…the plague was held back from Israel.”

We’ve all sinned.  And our sins do affect others around us, especially those close to us.  Because of Jesus, we have the invitation to repent, be forgiven, and move the hand of God when we pray for forgiveness and for those we’ve hurt.

Today…pray and repent over any sin…and ask God to bless those you’ve hurt.

For this reason....

Have you ever wondered why God told us to pray, especially if he already knows our needs and what’s in our hearts?  Why and what are we to pray about, and what kind of prayers get answers?

We will start on a journey of looking at prayers in the bible to see what we can discover:

In II Samuel 7, God makes a covenant with David, with words of hope and assurance for a good future.  In response to that word of comfort from God, David prays.  In that prayer, David exalts God.

For this reason You are great, O Lord God; for there is none like You, and there is no God besides You, according to all that we have heard with our ears. (verse 22)

Now, O Lord God, You are God, and Your words are truth, and You have promised this good thing to Your servant. (verse 28)

We have the same promises from God of a hope and a future – it says so in his Word.  So one prayer we can pray that is effective in reaching God’s heart and in lifting our own spirits is one of thanksgiving and praise to God for who he is, what he has said in his word, and for all his promises that are true.

Somehow, when we begin our prayers with praise, our long list of petitions gets shorter and shorter, because we know the God we serve takes care of his children.

Today…praise Him for the great God that He is.

All in All

The last of Ephesians 1:

These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places,  far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

Just read over this last part of this chapter again.

Jesus submitted himself to obey his Father by willing offering himself on the cross to die for our sins.  In doing so, his Father raised him from the dead and placed him right beside him in “heavenly places.”

He gave all things to his Son under his feet, placed him as head over the church, his body.

And he calls His body the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

WE – YOU AND ME – are part of that body.

We are the fulfillment of the plan.  We are the characters that emerge in the story after the great rescue by the King! 

We get to live with the King and his Son and  delight in the kingdom – not for the pure pleasure of filling our own desires – but that as we experience His love, as we realize our inheritance, as we walk in holiness without blame – we demonstrate his glory to the nations around us.

I want to be a part of that story, fulfilling the entire plan of God in my life.

Do you?

So That You'll Know

Ephesians 1 cont’d:

I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe.

After writing and explaining about redemption and all that is ours in Christ Jesus, the writer of Ephesians says that he prays for those to whom he’s writing.  In his prayer he hopes that you realize:

Enlightened eyes in your heart

Did you know your heart has eyes?  Thank goodness!  Because what we see with our physical eyes on our head is sometimes disheartening and discouraging.  But the eyes of our heart, once they are opened to the riches of his love, see the next thing…

The hope of His calling

Do you wonder what your call is here on earth, what you were made to do? You were made to receive his inheritance of riches to glorify his name.

The surpassing greatness of his power

This means his power surpasses all that you can imagine.  He has the power to heal, to provide you purpose and direction, and to reflect the image of his Son in your life.

When we truly SEE how much love the Father has lavished on us by calling us his children, we will realize His calling on our lives to serve him faithfully and completely, and will experience power that surpasses all understanding.

That’s a life worth living, isn’t it?

Sealed & Pledged

Ephesians 1 cont’d:

In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.

This verse is loaded!

All you have to do to receive your inheritance is to listen to the truth and believe it.

Once you’ve done that, you are SEALED in Him with a promise.

This promise (the Holy Spirit) is given as a pledge of your inheritance.

You become God’s own possession.

To the praise of His glory.

There are no attorneys involved.  Nothing is sealed away in a secret box that may or may not be empty.  The inheritance doesn’t diminish when it’s divided among all believers – it only increases.  And it’s not limited so that you have to stash it away, spending only a little bit at a time.  You can enjoy his great inheritance and share it with everyone you meet!

Are you listening to the truth?  

Jesus loves you.  He died for you.  If you believe, you get an inheritance like no other – one that never fades away.

Inheritance

Ephesians 1 cont’d:

In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will,  to the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ would be to the praise of His glory…

Are you set to receive an inheritance?  That’s great, if you are.  But you have no guarantee that the inheritance will still be there when you need it.  Things happen.  Money gets spent.  Stuff expires and deteriorates.  And even inheritances do not ensure a happy life. 

There are other things we inherit just because of our parents, like our bent towards a certain profession or skill, a tendency to flare up in anger because that’s what we saw them do, or we might be prone to addiction due to what our parents pass to us in our bloodstream when we’re born.

The inheritance we receive from Jesus is not like an earthly inheritance that may or may not be available when we need it.

The inheritance we receive from Him is ours – now – to know that all things work together for good – to the end that we will bring glory to his name.

That’s the inheritance that is sure, one that will ensure us a safe future, will provide for all of our needs, and will draw others to want to be part of His family.

Don’t seek an earthly inheritance.  Seek Him.  And everything else will fall into place.

The Mystery

Ephesians 1 cont’d:

In all wisdom and insight He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him with a view to an administration suitable to the fullness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth. 

Mysteries are my favorite kinds of movies.  I love getting lost in the story, trying to figure out who did it, the motive behind it, and watching the story unfold as each character emerges in the story.

It’s a true mystery how God’s will is to love us with his “kind intention” (there it is again!) that he “purposed in Him” – his son Jesus.  We did nothing to deserve his love.  Yet, the God of the universe, the key character in the story of all stories, chose to emerge on the scene and rescue us all from the abyss where we were all headed.

Who did it?  He did.  He’s the one who in all wisdom and insight revealed to us His son.

What was his motive?  His kind intention of love and grace.

What’s the story line? All of the characters had committed crimes worthy of death, until the King in the story emerged and rescued them all.

That’s a different kind of mystery, isn’t it?  Everyone should have died, but no one does, because of redemption!

That is…the sum of all things in Christ…that he first loved us and died for our sins…so that we might live.

1-2-3

Ephesians 1 cont’d:

In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace, which He lavished on us. 

Here’s what we have in Christ when we believe and receive him, in a 1-2-3 punch:

1.   Redemption through his blood (bought back – we belong to Him)

2.   Forgiveness of trespasses (our slate is wiped clean)

3.   Rich grace lavished on us (it’s extravagant and generous)

We couldn’t do any of the above three things on our own.  We were born into a sinful world, with sinful desires to satisfy our own cravings from day one, headed toward the robber of all robbers – death.

Then he redeemed us.  He took us and washed us until no trace of sin remained. The clothed us with his rich grace so that we could demonstrate his glory to others.

Redemption isn’t just for our own good, our own salvation, our own rescue from death.  It’s so that others can see the love that is richly demonstrated in our lives and experience redemption, as well.

Kind Intention

Ephesians 1 cont’d:

In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.

Look at the phrase “the kind intention of His will.”

Many times when we are the recipient of something great in this life, there’s an agenda behind it, or it’s because we have performed to some degree of excellence, or it’s pure luck.  But God’s love isn’t like that.   He has kind intentions toward us, because he created us to be in his image, reflecting his glory, walking in true fellowship with him.  That’s not pure luck. That’s pure love.

Look at the phrase “to the praise of the glory of his grace, which he freely bestowed…”

Back in the old days, a father would bestow gifts to his daughter when she married – a dowry – a transfer of inheritance.  After that, she and her husband would start their life together, working hard, to make ends meet.

God’s grace isn’t a one-time dowry that he gives us when we accept his son as our bridegroom. It’s an everyday, every minute, occurrence.  His grace is always there for us…because he is kindly intentioned toward us.

All I can visualize after reading these verses is a kind heavenly father, with loving eyes and open hands, looking down on us without accusation, without hidden agendas, lavishing his love on us over and over again.

That’s redemption.

Blessed

Did you know there are blessings we have in redemption (being saved from sin) other than just having our consciences cleared and our sins forgiven?  That in itself is enough, but God didn’t stop there.  He lavished more blessings upon us, too!

Ephesians 1 says:

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him.

I love this verse.  He CHOSE us to be HOLY and BLAMELESS.

John 3:16 says God “so loved the world,” which includes you and me.  He sought after us, he desired a relationship with us, and he picked us out to be his sons and daughters.

Not only that, but he chose us to be holy.  And the best part is that he knew we couldn’t be holy on our own, so he sent his son as the perfect sacrifice so that because he was holy, we can be holy, because we belong to him. 

And finally, we are blameless.  When we feel or hear accusations in our head or heart that we are worthless, full of faults, bad to the bone….we can turn away from that slander.  Jesus paid it all – for you and me!  He set us free to walk free from guilt and shame.

So because he chose us, he makes us holy, and we are blameless – three awesome perks of redemption – we are to bless his name.

Bless the name of Jesus, who redeems us from sin.

In Summary...

The last verse of James 5:

My brethren, if any among you strays from the truth and one turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.

This is the final verse after many verses on prayer, and salvation.  Prayer is necessary in order to see people saved from sin, and restored to complete healing.

Our purpose here on earth is certainly to worship God and bring him glory.  And one way we do that is by restoring others to a right relationship with God.  It’s hard to do that if we ourselves don’t feel complete and whole in Him. 

This entire chapter of James encourages us to not misuse riches, to be patient and endure hardship, to praise, and to pray.

And the result will be restoration.

I can’t think of anything more satisfying, more than a vacation away or a meal that hits every receptor in our stomachs, than seeing someone who has lost hope regain it.  When someone who hates herself realizes God loves her and she then loves herself – that is breathtakingly beautiful.

Pray for the sick.  Pray for the lost.  Don’t get entrapped in riches on this earth, and don’t grow weary when the race is long and hard.  Keep praising him, praying effective prayers of faith.

Watch for the answers to come in the form of strays showing up at your door asking for a glass of water.  You can then hand it to them and cover a multitude of sins, and all of heaven will rejoice with you, as you see God restore one who was lost back to Him.

Pray Again

James 5 cont'd:

Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months. Then he prayed again, and the sky poured rain and the earth produced its fruit.

This is one of my favorite passages in the bible.  It is noted that Elijah, a man of great faith whose prayer moved the heavens, was a man just like us.

We often think that prayers of those “higher” than we are in their walk with God can get God to hear them.  In reality, God hears the prayer of each one of us when we offer it up in faith “earnestly.” 

Have you ever prayed an earnest prayer?  I have, when I’ve cried out in desperation and faith – a powerful combo.

Elijah prayed for something to happen in the heavens – no rain.  Where I live, we are praying for rain to occur, because we’re in a drought – a severe one.

Elijah prayed, he prayed again, and we see that it didn’t rain for 3 ½ years.  Wow.  That’s an effective prayer that accomplished much.

God is not limited in what he can do when we pray.  We limit him to answer within the parameters we set for him.  But he answers within his parameters, which are always safe, good, and in fact, the best.

Don’t ever think your prayer is asking “too much” of God.  He’s a big God and is able to do more than we can ask…or even think of asking.  That’s huge.

Pray.  Pray earnestly.  Pray for miracles. Praise him for the answer.

Effective Prayer

James 5 cont’d:

Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.

This “therefore” comes after our instruction to seek prayer when we are sick. 

Sin is a form of sickness, too.  Did you know that?  When we are sinning (doing what we know to be wrong) we are creating sickness in our heart that permeates throughout our bodies.  We can try as hard as we want, but without prayer and confession, the complete healing won’t take place.

You want healing in your body, mind, or spirit? 

Ask the Lord to show you where you’re sinning and then confess it. This is a hard thing to do, because we are afraid of shame and judgment.  However, there is neither of those in the presence of Jesus. 

Doesn’t that second sentence seem redundant?  The “effective” prayer of a righteous man can “accomplish” much?

A prayer that is effective is one that prays for the sick and the lost.  Hands down, that’s an effective prayer, because it is in the heart of God to restore.

A prayer that accomplishes much is one that is prayed by those who love God and love others.  Answers will come.

We focus too much on the outcome of prayer, because we have a preconceived idea of what that answer should be.  However, our focus should be on obeying his word by praying and believing, and then resting in the loving God we serve, that his answer is on the way.

Restore the One

James 5 contd:

 ^…and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him.

Prior to this verse we are told to seek prayer if we are sick, to pray, and to sing praises. And here we see that it is a prayer full of faith that will create results.

It’s interesting here that when we pray, the sick will not only be restored, but if sins have been committed, they will be forgiven.

God cares about our physical bodies when we don’t feel well, and he is a restorative God.  He also cares about the condition of our hearts, because he is a restorative God.

Have you ever praised God for being “restorative?”

It’s a fact that we live in a fallen world, and it too will one day be restored.  But even though we live in this fallen world, God offers us restoration now.  He can restore our bodies and our spirits, so that we can walk in wholeness with him.

This all occurs through prayer.  That’s the vehicle through which God brings answers.

Sometimes I get hung up on why God chooses to heal some and not others, but what I need to do is pray and believe and praise him for restoring everyone, not some.  That’s his goal, to restore each one of us to right standing with him, and he will do whatever is best to make that happen.

Our part is to pray, praise, and obey his word.  And we can be confident that restoration will be ours, completely and wholly.

A Must

James 5 cont’d:

Is anyone among you suffering? Then he must pray. Is anyone cheerful? He is to sing praises. Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord…

Suffering is part of life.  But we are not alone in our suffering, and we are not to sit down and suffer in pity and agony.  We are told here that we MUST pray.

Joy and cheerfulness are part of life, as well.  We are not to keep this joy to ourselves, but we are to sing out praises.

Sickness will hit our bodies at times.  Again, we are told to reach out to others, that we MUST call for prayer…in the name of the Lord.

It’s interesting here, every part of our lives is not to be experienced alone. 

When we suffer, we tend to want to retreat from those who aren’t suffering like we are.  When we’re happy, we are prone to forget to thank the Lord.  And when we’re sick, we often discount the effectiveness of prayer.

The key here is prayer and praise.

Both are a MUST, whatever place we find ourselves in today.

Above All

James 5 cont’d:

But above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath; but your yes is to be yes, and your no, no, so that you may not fall under judgment.

This verse comes right after the reminder of God’s mercy and compassion right through the middle of suffering and pain.

During times of suffering, we are prone to swear or lash out at God, much like Job did in the beginning of his time of loss.  We begin to question God’s goodness, waver in our faith, become unsure of our standing with God.

This kind of swearing mentioned in this verse is throwing contempt upon God’s name and authority. In other words, we become impatient in trials and we curse God’s ways and decide that perhaps living for God is all in vain.

This is dangerous. 

We must always submit to God’s authority and plans for our lives, because his ways are perfect, sure, and always have an intended outcome for good.  We may think the way we see is a good one, but God knows what’s down the road and we don’t.

Rest assured in your faith, what you say with your mouths, and what comes out of your heart. God is good.  He is faithful.  His love endures forever.  

And never falter in that truth.

Blessed

James 5 cont’d:

As an example, brethren, of suffering and patience, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.  We count those blessed who endured. You have heard of the endurance of Job and have seen the outcome of the Lord’s dealings, that the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful.

Endurance is part of the race, isn’t it? When we watch the Olympics and see those who have trained run for miles and miles with endurance and cross the finish line, it’s exhilarating and amazing to hear the stories of the runners, and all of the obstacles they’ve overcome in order to win.  In fact, if their life was full of nothing but smooth sailing, we most likely wouldn’t be interested in their story!

Job’s endurance through all that he experienced is amazing, as well.  I’m not sure I would live through that kind of loss!

If the prophets suffered and had to produce patience in their lives, if the runners who actually win the gold have to endure hard workouts, shin splints and dehydration, and if Job himself went through loss and grief of the worst kind, then we are to look to them as our examples.

Examples of what?

The mercy and compassion of God, present in our lives.

We cannot experience his mercy and compassion without having a need for both.  And that need comes through suffering.

When we experience the mercy of God and his compassion to heal, it produces gold that cannot lose its value or worth.

And...we can count ourselves blessed.