“And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him” – James 5:15
LIGHT FOR NOW: The power to make the believer’s prayer work is right inside the believer.
Prayer is not asking what God desires; prayer is asking what you desire. James did not just say he prayed to God; rather, he prayed to the giving God. This implies that the focus of the prayer is the desire of the person praying and not the character of God; he gives to all liberally without finding faults. James was addressing their double-mindedness about the character of God; that there is a view a man can have about the character of God in the place of prayer. The issue is not whether God will give or not; it is a lack of understanding about the character of God.
In James 1:5-8 “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways”; the first thing James did was to inform them about the character of God; he gives to all men liberally; he does not find faults. Hence, receiving from him depends on the one asking and not God. Therefore, faith is not exercised in asking but in receiving. Secondly, he addressed being double-minded about God’s character; the fact that he gives to all men liberally and does not find fault in giving to all men when they ask him. Therefore, “asking in faith” or the “prayer of faith” is explained in context of James 1:7-8; it has to do with the man praying, his recepstion and not the character of God (who gives to all liberally without reproach or fault finding). Hence, receiving from him depends on the one asking and not God. Thus, faith is not exercised in asking, but in receiving. God is a giving God, He still meet needs, and He still meets our heart desires and requests. Glory!
INSTRUCTION: Having known God’s character in the place of prayer, let’s learn to approach him with boldness and in confidence that he heareth us always.
CONFESSION: In my place of prayer, I will not pray with double-mindedness, but with boldness and confidence, in Jesus Name, Amen.
QUOTE: Prayer is asking what you desire and not what God desires.
DAILY BIBLE READING: MORNING: JAMES CHAPTER 1; EVENING: JAMES CHAPTER 5
LIGHT FROM THE WORD 