Prayer From the Righteous

The book of James--filled with rich, spiritual instruction--concludes with the subject of faithfulness in prayer. We all know how important prayer is, we all know that prayer is our primary communication with God, we all know that we need to pray for others and we all know how difficult it can be to keep a consistent prayer life.

James 5:16 gives us a needed boost of encouragement to maintain this crucial spiritual discipline: ...The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. We have the promise from God's Word that if we are righteous, then our prayers are powerful and effective. Being righteous means having a right relationship with God. It means we acknowledge who He is--holy, perfect, loving, almighty and just--and who we are--sinful, imperfect, selfish, powerless and partial. Righteousness is our key to unlock the wealth of blessings that our Heavenly Father stands ready to pour out on us.

We are called to pray when we are suffering and sing praises when He blesses us (James 5:13). We are to seek prayer for when we are sick (v.14) and are reminded that prayer heals both physically and spiritually (v.15). Because the prayer of the righteous is so powerful and healing, we are called to pray for one another and to confess our sins to one another and reap the benefit that God so graciously supplies. As a ministry leader, I am comforted to know that there are many righteous sons and daughters of the Kingdom who pray for me daily and their prayers are powerful.

Being powerful and effective certainly resonates with God's men and so should our desire to prayerfully seek Him. Because God, above all else, desires a relationship with those He created; it shouldn't be surprising how much value Scripture puts on prayer. Our relationship with Him can't live without it.