“Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms. Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: 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. Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much”. – James 5:13-16
LIGHT FOR NOW: Whenever the believer in Christ lifts his voice in prayers, God hears him always and the character of this God (who is his father) is that he is a giving God.
In our last study on the prayer of faith, we established that thanksgiving in prayers is a show of our confidence in a giving God who gives freely and who is consistent (James 1:17). Paul in 1Corinthians 14 shows us how we give thanks; he gives us an order. 1Corinthians 14:14-17 “For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is unfruitful. What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also: I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also. Else when thou shalt bless with the spirit, how shall he that occupieth the room of the unlearned say Amen at thy giving of thanks, seeing he understandeth not what thou sayest? For thou verily givest thanks well, but the other is not edified”. Notice, I will pray in the spirit; I will pray with my understanding also. I will sing with the spirit; I will sing with my understanding also. In Ephesians 6:18, Paul tells us “the how to pray” – He says “in the spirit”. Hence, the “how to” give thanks is also in the spirit (1Corinthians 14:16-17).
Having said that, how do you act on your receiving? Recall Jesus’ teaching or prayer. Mark 11:24 “Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them”. Clearly, receiving is when we pray while having our request is afterwards. We have seen that receiving in prayer is the prayer of faith. Hence, the key issue being addressed is knowledge (James 1:5-7). John also emphasized knowledge. 1John 5:15 “And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him”. What is this knowledge about? To know that the father always hears us when we pray. Jesus prayed, Paul prayed, men prayed in the scriptures and they were not guessing or wishing that they would receive answers in prayer. The knowledge is about the character of God which is why he always hears us when we pray. Glory!
INSTRUCTION: God always hears us when we pray; think in this line!
CONFESSION: I am grateful because when I pray, the father hears me always. I am a child of God. I have answers in prayers. I choose to renew my mind always about God’s character.
QUOTE: The believer always has an audience with God; he is not to be seeking an audience with God.
DAILY BIBLE READING: MORNING: MARK CHAPTER 11; EVENING: JAMES CHAPTER 5
LIGHT FROM THE WORD 