Just Like Us? How we can pray with power.

Elijah was one of the most influential and important prophets of Israel’s history. He’s the prophet we read about who stood up to the king, provided for the widow, raised a dead boy back to life, and defeated the 450 prophets of Baal.  He was one impressive guy.

We read about his confrontation with Ahab where he declares by the Word of God that the rain will stop at his word and will not return until he tells it to rain, for the punishment of Israel’s sin. Three and half years later, Elijah prays and the rain returns! Wow! That’s awesome faith and powerful prayer!

Yet James says that Elijah was a man just like us. “Elijah has nothing on you!” says James (James 5:17). We find that hard to believe when we read 1 Kings 17-18 and respond with “no way!” Elijah was special. But read into chapter 19 and you can begin to relate a whole lot more.

You see the source of Elijah’s power was not from within Elijah (as is the popular mantra of today), but the power source is in the God to whom he prayed. Elijah was just a human like you and me, but he relied on the power of God through prayer, something that is available to us today.

That is why James is so passionate about prayer in the last section of his book (James 5:13-20). He is concluding his remarks where we need to begin, with prayer. Prayer should not be seen as the last resort but as the constant fountain of strength.

Pray In All Circumstances

Are you going through hard times? Pray. Are you rejoicing? Pray! Pray for others, pray for yourself, pray and then pray some more. Prayer to a believer’s faith is what oxygen is to the human body, we cannot survive without it.

I must confess that I fail at this sometimes…well a lot of times. I know the importance of prayer, I know the power of prayer, but I get in the way too often. When things are going bad, I am quick to go to my knees and cry out for God’s help. But when things are good, I can deceive myself that I can handle life and do things on my own power.

James is warning us not to do that. Develop a prayer life that is consistent and constant. One that knows how to petition God through hard times. A prayer life that knows how to rejoice with God and how to cry on His shoulder.

Elijah figured this out and God used Him mightily.  

Faithfulness Leads to Powerful Prayer

We are instructed to call the church leaders to come pray for the sick. Their prayers of faith will bring healing. James says that the prayer of a righteous person is powerful. Here’s what he is saying, as you learn to live in faithful obedience, your prayers have great power.

The manner in which we live our life will affect the power of our prayers. It’s not the prayer itself that has the power, but God who does. But when we live in faithful obedience to God, we grow closer to Him, trust Him more and keep a continual and constant line of communication with Him.

The Bible says if we cherish sin in our heart, God won’t hear us. Sin leads to broken communication, but obedience leads to power. Do you want to have a powerful prayer life?

Prayer Defeats Sin

Here again James gives a principle that we do not employ often enough, confessing our sins to one another and praying for healing. Prayer itself is a step of humility. It is acknowledging that you cannot do something on your own, that there is someone greater then you and you are petitioning Him. Confession is also a step of humility that helps you realize your place before God.

Here we are encouraged again to find godly people in our lives that we can share are struggles, our faults and our sins with, who will pray for us and with us. When someone confesses sin, it isn’t to be a time of judgment and condemnation, but a time we come together battling against sin. This has been commanded to us over 2000 years ago, but it is something we struggle to do.

Time and again, someone will come to me to confess their struggles with sin and I am saddened by their expectations of what is going to happen. They often expect to be yelled at, that anger will ensue, that I will tell them how stupid and ridiculous they are and ban them from coming back.

Seeing the relief in their eyes when instead of anger I can offer them grace and hope tells me how fearful they were of confession. Confession is good and should not be feared, but we need to develop a culture in the church where people no longer fear, but are willing to confess.

When you are looking for a peer accountability partner who you can confess with and pray with, you should look for someone who has compassion and understanding that they too are a sinner saved by grace. As we remember our own sin, we can battle together.

You may not think of yourself as an Elijah, but your prayers matter. The same God that moved mightily in Elijah’s life is waiting to work in your life. Pray to Him and watch Him prove Himself glorious in your life as well. Trust Him with the formula to confess sin and pray for healing, He will heal you (1 John 1:9).

Oh How Arrogant We Are!

Have you ever stopped to think about how arrogant you are?

I know, you read that question and want to smart off to me, “well Brad do YOU know how arrogant YOU are???” Just so you know, I wasn’t thinking about you when I wrote that question. Really it would be best addressed sitting in front of a mirror and asking myself that question. (Probably a good exercise for you too J )

There is a mirror that we need to look into to frame our question, the mirror of God’s Word. This week we are in James 4:13-17 and that is essentially how James starts the section when he questions the arrogance in our plans, our thoughts on life and our sense of entitlement.

Arrogance in our Plans

“Today or tomorrow we will go…” James is attacking the person who has a false certainty of their future. When we become prideful and feel like we are guaranteed the future that we want, we need a corrective lens. We want to be lord of our own life.

So easily we make plans for our future in education, career, family, etc. Even as believers we make these plans without acknowledging their dependence on God. In High School I wrote a paper, “Where I Will Be in 10 Years.” I detailed that paper down to pretty precise aspects, including naming the girl I was going to marry and how many children we would have. How did that work out for me you ask?

Well let’s see, I did not get married to her, or any other girl for that matter. Although 10 years after I wrote this paper, she did have 3 children with her husband. I did not go into the career I wrote about or experience anything on that list. The only part that came true for me, was I did live 10 years after that paper.

One thing missing from my paper was my dependence on God. I did not acknowledge the fact that each day was a gift that I didn’t deserve. I didn’t acknowledge God’s master plan and inquire from Him how I was to fit into His will. No, I arrogantly sat down and wrote my thoughts on what I thought was the ideal life.

Now almost 20 years after I penned that paper I can say I am so thankful for His plan for my life. It was so far beyond anything that I could have imagined and I am thankful that I get to do what I do.

Arrogance in our Thoughts on Life

Especially in our youth, we think life will last forever. We think we are invincible and we can do whatever we want. We are not guaranteed tomorrow, or even the next moment. Our very breath is dependent on God.

James says “what is your life? It is as a vapor that appears for a little while and vanishes away.”

As is my custom, I enjoy a good cup of hot coffee. I love waking up in the morning and warming up while holding a hot cup watching the steam arise. The whole experience is wonderful. However, it is short lived. The steaming vapors rise up and disappear.

That is how life is. It is short, unexpected and not guaranteed. I am not lord of my life, I am dependent upon God for my life.

Arrogance in our sense of Entitlement

We feel like we are the arbiters of good. We can choose what we want to do when we want to do it. We are owed a good life, aren’t we? We deserve to have our own way, right?

No! James says that God is watching and knows when we see something we should do, but don’t do it because it would inconvenience us, it is a sin. How can something be a sin if we are the lord of our own life? We are not lord of our own life, God is.

The Antidote to Arrogance: Humility

The proper recognition of ourselves before God is the only way to overcome this inordinate arrogance. God is the Creator, Jesus is the Savior, and He has bought us with a price. Our whole life and existence belongs to Him.

So instead of making plans, we acknowledge that only if God wills us to do something can we actually do it. When we wake up in the morning we are to be thankful for the gift of another day. When we go throughout our day, we look to be obedient followers of Christ.

We were created by God to find our fullest satisfaction and greatest joy in Him. Look to Him today and celebrate His goodness in your life. Ask Him to guide your steps and surrender your future to Him.

Only One Life

Today's post is a poem by C.T. Studd, a missionary to China and Africa who died in 1931 (you can read more about Studd here). In looking at James 4:13-17, Studd's words help look at how short our life is and how important it is that we live it for Jesus. 

“Two little lines I heard one day,

Traveling along life's busy way;

Bringing conviction to my heart,

And from my mind would not depart;

Only one life, 'twill soon be past,

Only what's done for Christ will last.

Only one life, yes only one,

Soon will its fleeting hours be done;

Then, in 'that day' my Lord to meet,

And stand before His Judgement seat;

Only one life,'twill soon be past,

Only what's done for Christ will last.

Only one life, the still small voice,

Gently pleads for a better choice

Bidding me selfish aims to leave,

And to God's holy will to cleave;

Only one life, 'twill soon be past,

Only what's done for Christ will last.

Only one life, a few brief years,

Each with its burdens, hopes, and fears;

Each with its clays I must fulfill,

living for self or in His will;

Only one life, 'twill soon be past,

Only what's done for Christ will last.

When this bright world would tempt me sore,

When Satan would a victory score;

When self would seek to have its way,

Then help me Lord with joy to say;

Only one life, 'twill soon be past,

Only what's done for Christ will last.

Give me Father, a purpose deep,

In joy or sorrow Thy word to keep;

Faithful and true what e'er the strife,

Pleasing Thee in my daily life;

Only one life, 'twill soon be past,

Only what's done for Christ will last.

Oh let my love with fervor burn,

And from the world now let me turn;

Living for Thee, and Thee alone,

Bringing Thee pleasure on Thy throne;

Only one life, "twill soon be past,

Only what's done for Christ will last.

Only one life, yes only one,

Now let me say,"Thy will be done";

And when at last I'll hear the call,

I know I'll say "twas worth it all";

Only one life,'twill soon be past,

Only what's done for Christ will last. "

--- extra stanza ---

Only one life, 'twill soon be past,

Only what's done for Christ will last.

And when I am dying, how happy I'll be,

If the lamp of my life has been burned out for Thee.”

C.T Studd

Ashes To Ashes

"You are not right!" "No, you are wrong!" Those are not phrases that any of us want to hear, or enjoy hearing. Yet essentially James opens up his 4^th chapter challenging us that the quarrels and fights we have come from our own hearts.

Our hearts are messed up, big time! “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it” (Jeremiah 17:9)? Our hearts are the source of all our problems because of sin and sinful desires.

The problem is we don’t acknowledge our own sinfulness. Far from it, we instead insist we are right and good. We blame everyone else for the problems in our life and continue to pursue our desires, even when it ultimately will lead to our destruction.

We become so confident in ourselves that we neglect prayer, robbing us of the abundance of Christ. When we do finally turn to God in prayer, we do it with the wrong motives seeking to escape the problems that are our fault.

We sin because we are sinners, born into this world dead in our trespasses and sins. What does a corpse do? Nothing. Our natural state can do nothing good that would earn life or salvation. We are blinded to God and our need for a Savior.

Sin is missing the mark, falling short of God’s perfection and breaking His perfect law (see Romans 3:23). This is the state of our heart. The one thing in common all the quarrels and fights in my life have is me, I’m at the center and I am the one to blame. We can no longer follow the pattern our first parents, Adam and Eve, set for us as they blamed others for their sins. We have to humbly come to God acknowledging our own sinfulness and need for a Savior.

Maybe you are thinking, “well I did ask Jesus into my heart years ago so I’m good and don’t need to do this repentance thing any more.” There are several issues we would need to deal with in that sentence, but we will stick to the topic of believers living a life of repentance.  James is writing to believers and telling them that they need to repent. They need to acknowledge the wickedness of their own hearts, their desire to be friends with the world and turn back to God.

Repentance should become a daily practice for believers. Sure, your relationship with God may have begun that one day you remember repenting and believing on Jesus for the first time, but repentance is what keeps our relationships with Jesus vibrant and growing.

One thing I love about expository (verse by verse through the Bible) preaching and teaching is how when we do a series, God lines things up perfectly for us to hear what we need to hear when we need to hear it. When I scheduled James to be our next series, I didn’t look at the calendar and figure out what week would be best to teach each chapter. I just thought James would be a good book to start the year on.

However, James 4:1-12 fell on this Wednesday of all Wednesdays, which is Ash Wednesday according to the Christian Liturgical Calendar. Ash Wednesday is the beginning of the Lentin season, a season of sacrifice and fasting in preparation for celebrating Easter. Some Christian traditions do not celebrate Lent, as is the case for the tradition I grew up in. There are certainly a number of theological implications that can be discussed in whether all Christians should or should not celebrate it, or the proper means in celebration. Yet in getting in to all of that we may miss the main point, which is repentance.

Ash Wednesday is a day to remember our humanity, humility and God’s holiness. Each of us are born sinners and will die one day. From dust we came and dust we will return. We are lost without Jesus and separated from a Holy God. It was very costly for Jesus to purchase our redemption on the cross, and this is a day for us to reflect on our sinfulness. Ashes were a symbol of mourning in the Old Testament. So many believers will put ashes on their foreheads to remember their sins and need for a Savior.

Considering Ash Wednesday, let’s look again at what James says in chapter 4:6-10.

He has just reminded us of the sinful state of our heart and our desperate situation. Then he transitions with an amazing word, GRACE! God gives more grace, God is the source of grace and He delights in giving it to us. One person has defined grace as “God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense!”

Jesus was willing to become a human baby, live a perfect sinless life in complete submission to the Law of God, to go to the cross and shed His blood for our sins and then be buried and rise again the third day. He offers us forgiveness and a relationship with Him. This is what we need to consider when thinking about Grace.

Steps to a Repentant Life

As we think about grace, the means for our salvation and pursuit of God, James gives us a few steps to practice in repentance.

Submit To God – Daily we need to remember who God is, His holiness, His position and our place. We need to align ourselves in a proper posture to worship our Creator. He is Lord, King and our Father, we serve and obey Him and Him alone!

Resist The Devil – We need to put up a fight against the enemy. We need to say no to temptations in thought and deed. This is a continual action with a promise that when we make it a practice of resisting, the enemy will flee from us. We cannot do this in our own strength but need to power of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God.

Draw Near To God – We draw near to God by reading His Word and talking to Him through prayer. When’s the last time you prayed just to be near to God? He promises that when we draw near to Him, He will draw near to us. (Consider John 15)

Cleanse Hands and Purify Hearts – 1 John 1:9 tells us that when we confess our sins God will forgive us and cleanse us. Hands refer to our actions and deeds. Think through the wrong things you have done and ask forgiveness and stop committing those sins. The Heart is our affections and motives, think through and confess the evil longings of our hearts and ask God to give you new desires and motives.

Mourn Our Sinfulness – Here is something we are not good at. We find joy in our sins and almost laugh them off. James says turn your laughter and joy into mourning and weeping. Your sin cost Jesus His life. Have you ever experienced a Godly sorrow that leads to repentance? Ask God to break your heart over your sin and help you to hate it.

Humble Oursleves – When we do this, we gain a proper perspective of our self and gain a proper perspective of God. Don’t seek self glory, but the glory of God. He will lift you up and encourage you. His praise is the only praise we need, don’t seek a cheap substitute in life.

So today, this Ash Wednesday, no matter what your tradition is, remember Jesus and His sacrificial love for you. Remember where you came from and where you are going. Continue to live a repentant lifestyle and draw close to God. Not just because today is Ash Wednesday, but because Jesus rose from the dead and is with you everyday, so live with Him in joy!

May the grace of God be with you!