QUALIFIED TO PRAY James 5:16-18 When you read through the Bible, there are prayers which are answered and there are those which remain unanswered (James 4:3). Our spiritual condition determines God’s response to us in prayer (Psalm 66:18; Proverbs 15:8). Righteousness, being in right standing with God, is a prerequisite for answered prayers. However, the only problem which prevents righteousness is the sin issue (Isaiah 59: 1-2: Habakkuk 1: 13). So, the first prayer God wants to hear from a human being is a prayer asking for forgiveness. This is because sin causes a separation between man and God. Sin disqualifies us from an active and effective relationship with God (Romans 3:23). Remember that prayer is not a means of getting God to do our bidding but rather, it is a communication between two people in a relationship. The quality of the relationship will always impact on the quality of the communication. Thankfully, God has made a provision to overcome the limitation which sin imposes (1John 1: 5- 2: 1). Once you realise you are a sinner, you ask God for forgiveness. He then removes the nature of sin and puts His nature in you. His nature gives you the capacity to do right. However, your mind and emotions remain the same and need to be reprogrammed over time (Romans 12:2). While we are in the process, we make mistakes but the Bible informs us that there is a provision for forgiveness so that we have a platform for communicating with God. A saved person does not make it a practice to sin. One of the major tools Satan uses to frustrate a Christian’s prayer life is guilt. You will battle with guilt as long as you harbour unconfessed sin. You must have it embedded in your spirit that Jesus Christ paid for ALL your sins and His blood cleanses us from ALL sin (2 Corinthians 5: 21). There is no need to repeatedly ask God for forgiveness. He heard you the first time you asked! Your effectiveness spiritually, especially in prayer, is only to the limit to which you are submitted to God. Demons will obey you when you represent Jesus. If you are in disobedience to Jesus, they recognise it in the spirit realm (2 Corinthians 10:6; Matthew 8: 9). There is righteousness in terms of your position with God and there is righteousness as a practice. The fact that you are in right standing with God is supposed to impact on your behaviour (1John 3: 7-10 MSG). The major way the sin nature shows forth itself is in our relationship with God and with one another. You cannot pretend to love God when you do not love people (Malachi 1: 14: 2: 14; 1 Peter: 3: 7; Malachi 3: 8-11; Isaiah 58: 1-9). God is not interested in religious acts. (2 Chronicles 7:14). Daniel made up his mind not to defile himself with the king’s food. When he prayed, God heard him (Daniel 1:8). Nehemiah denied himself of some rightful benefits and God helped him to succeed as a leader in government. God heard Jesus’ prayers because He owed Satan nothing (John 4:30). Allow the Spirit of God to help you love people and respond to them correctly (Galatians 5:6; Romans 5:5; Matthew 5)
Posted on: Sun, 26 Jan 2014 08:41:48 +0000