Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another. JAMES 5:16 The ancient historian Eusebius portrayed James as a Nazarite, an Israelite wholly devoted to God (Numbers 6:1–23), whose times of prayer for his nation were frequent and prolonged. Most of us find it very hard to identify with a man like James. Who do we know who prays so much that he develops knots on his knees? Perhaps the better question might be, “Who do we know who prays—really prays?” That’s not an unfair question, nor is it calculated to instill guilt. It reflects the surveys that have been taken by both Christian and secular researchers. It seems Christians today are too busy to pray! One of the New Testament’s strongest passages on prayer is contained in James’s final words to his fellow Jewish believers. In James 5:7–12, the word for patience is used seven times. In this passage, the word for prayer occurs seven times. When patience is required, prayer is the key. - Dr. David Jeremiah Morning and Evening
Consider what Dr. Jeremiah has said.
In reading through my devotionals and my Bible, this hymn came to mind:
And can it be that I should gain
An int’rest in the Savior’s blood?
Died He for me, who caused His pain?
For me, who Him to death pursued?
Amazing love! how can it be
That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?
Amazing love! how can it be
That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?
’Tis mystery all! The Immortal dies!
Who can explore His strange design?
In vain the firstborn seraph tries
To sound the depths of love Divine!
’Tis mercy all! let earth adore,
Let angel minds inquire no more.
’Tis mercy all! let earth adore,
Let angel minds inquire no more.
He left His Father’s throne above,
So free, so infinite His grace;
Emptied Himself of all but love,
And bled for Adam’s helpless race:
’Tis mercy all, immense and free;
For, O my God, it found out me.
’Tis mercy all, immense and free;
For, O my God, it found out me.
Long my imprisoned spirit lay
Fast bound in sin and nature’s night;
Thine eye diffused a quickening ray,
I woke, the dungeon flamed with light;
My chains fell off, my heart was free,
I rose, went forth, and followed Thee.
My chains fell off, my heart was free,
I rose, went forth, and followed Thee.
No condemnation now I dread;
Jesus, and all in Him, is mine!
Alive in Him, my living Head,
And clothed in righteousness Divine,
Bold I approach the eternal throne,
And claim the crown, through Christ my own.
Bold I approach the eternal throne,
And claim the crown, through Christ my own.
Prayers can do more to take your worries off of you and place them with whom can actually do something about them.
Yesterday I took a beating in getting through the day. Was very rough from just past midnight with thunderstorms and a nearby lightning strike, to a problem with the company's alert system going off accidentally, to constant issues at work. A lack of good sleep wrecked havoc with my mind and my patience.
Prayers get us, get me, through life. When answers don't come as fast as I would like, I keep praying. Daniel experienced delays and God put his example in the book of Daniel for a reason. Spiritual warfare exists, God's answers are often delayed due to the unseen enemy of God who doesn't want us receiving those answers...thus requiring patience.
The Bible specifically mentions fervent prayer. You walk with Jesus as you ought to and you pray as often as you can breathe. Not giving up until or unless you are specifically shown that the answer is no.
Perspective and Priorities...
And can it be that I should gain
An int’rest in the Savior’s blood?
Died He for me, who caused His pain?
For me, who Him to death pursued?
Amazing love! how can it be
That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?
Amazing love! how can it be
That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?
Look at what the hymn writer says. He died for me who caused His pain.
For me. He went to the cross to die for me.
To us it ought to bring about gratitude. Not selfish desires or ambitions.
Consider Ephesians 2:1-10 "And you were dead in your offenses and sins, in which you previously walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all previously lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the rest. But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our wrongdoings, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the boundless riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.
That passage in Ephesians stood out to me this morning because of that line...Among them we too all previously lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind. To be in prayer is to indeed set your minds on things above and not necessarily the things of this world. Patience in prayer means staying focused.
To win a war or win the prize as Paul wrote, you have to remain focused.
To run off after things on a whim is to be like an undisciplined child. To focus on what only makes you happy isn't going to help those God brings into your day, your mind, to pray for.
Nobody in their right mind will thoroughly enjoy rigorous training. It's hard, it's difficult, it can easily lead to discomfort, discouragement, loss of self, loss of time, loss of many things. Yet we are called to learn to be an obedient Disciple. To learn what it means to obey, of what to reject from our lives. How to make what's important to God to be important to us.
Prayer is key in adjusting our minds to what God is thinking. We cannot give up because of the effort required. We cannot give up because of the lack of visible results.
I have several people that I pray for whom I may never see the results from those prayers. But I pray anyway. I pray for those whom I know are trapped in sin. Who are certainly being held captive by demons. Jesus forewarned that those kinds of demons only come out through prayer. So I am compelled to not give up. Jesus didn't give up on me.
Prayer should go hand in hand with your Bible reading. As Spurgeon said to someone one is as important as the other. One is breathing in the other is breathing out.
Are you indulging in the desires of your flesh and mind more than you are in your obedience to Christ? Are you at all concerned about those whom He puts on your mind to pray for, or is success in this life more important to you?
Amazing love! how can it be
That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?
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