God's Promises #4
"And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins he will be forgiven. Confess your trespasses to one another and pray for one another that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much." James 5: 15,16
I've been thinking much lately about prayer and it's power when accompanied by faith. These verses are so full of promises but I want to focus today on the last sentence, "The effective fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much."
Prayer is such a fundamental part of the Christian life. We pray before each meal, at church, and during devotions, but I've lately come to realize that I have so little faith that prayers of supplication, that is, requests, are answered and even dare I say cared about? I'm currently working on a project writing a blog about a mission team that my church is sending out to different parts of the world. The stories that I hear are like something from a movie or a book from a time long passed; dozens of men and women giving their lives to Christ, clear opposition from the enemy overcome, entire churches changed. But even to my own surprise I find myself questioning. Can this really be true? Is it real?
How can I serve the God of the Bible but have so little faith? Am I too afraid of what other people will think of me if I believe that God still moves this way? And yet why would I think that He wouldn't move in this way? The Bible tells us that our God is unchanging! So why do I struggle so to believe that He really moves in ways that are so great?
So many questions and so few answers. I find myself praying, oh so frequently the prayer of the father who's son was possessed. "Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief!"
This lesson of faith is one that I'm afraid I'm going to be long in learning. So I want to know, what do you think? Do you struggle to believe when you hear about stories of God's power that seem crazy? How does your faith affect your prayer?
I've been thinking much lately about prayer and it's power when accompanied by faith. These verses are so full of promises but I want to focus today on the last sentence, "The effective fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much."
Prayer is such a fundamental part of the Christian life. We pray before each meal, at church, and during devotions, but I've lately come to realize that I have so little faith that prayers of supplication, that is, requests, are answered and even dare I say cared about? I'm currently working on a project writing a blog about a mission team that my church is sending out to different parts of the world. The stories that I hear are like something from a movie or a book from a time long passed; dozens of men and women giving their lives to Christ, clear opposition from the enemy overcome, entire churches changed. But even to my own surprise I find myself questioning. Can this really be true? Is it real?
How can I serve the God of the Bible but have so little faith? Am I too afraid of what other people will think of me if I believe that God still moves this way? And yet why would I think that He wouldn't move in this way? The Bible tells us that our God is unchanging! So why do I struggle so to believe that He really moves in ways that are so great?
So many questions and so few answers. I find myself praying, oh so frequently the prayer of the father who's son was possessed. "Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief!"
This lesson of faith is one that I'm afraid I'm going to be long in learning. So I want to know, what do you think? Do you struggle to believe when you hear about stories of God's power that seem crazy? How does your faith affect your prayer?
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