Two days ago, I wrote about the Oswald Chamber's article about the importance of the righteousness of the soul making the petition. I also quoted the verse: the prayers of a righteous man availeth much or the prayers of a righteous man are powerful and effective.
Here's another one for today from James chapter one:
5 jIf any of you lacks wisdom, klet him ask God, lwho gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. 6 But mlet him ask in faith, nwith no doubting, for the one who doubts is like oa wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 phe is a double-minded man, qunstable in all his ways.You will see here the the most effective prayer is one asked "in faith, with no doubting..." and the person who doubts is a "double-minded man, unstable in all his ways."
So I should ask for prayer from individuals who have faith and not doubt, who are not double minded, and believe that their petitions will receive their answer from God, whether yes or no.
I also must continue to draw near to God through Christ and purify my heart and walk in his light, and raise my own praise and petitions to God as He asks me to. I am definitely not advocating for giving up self-prayer in favor of asking others to pray. But in the event that I would like my prayers to reach and extend farther, I want those with the purest hearts and the greatest faith to pray for me.
2 comments:
How does one increase her own faith in self-prayer? There are those who believe that God will hear and answer, and they pray with such certainty. I have seen so many miraculous things come from the prayers of those with great faith and heard incredible stories. Do you think faith like this is a gift that only some can have, or is it available to everyone, and we need to work on our unbelief or doubt?
These are great thoughts about things I have been wondering. Thanks!
It depends on the person praying. For example, I ask for lot of things, and I don't have faith that God will actually answer them. Such as praying for a job or a raise or marriage, etc.
Some people may pray for a job and really not doubt. But for me, and for many people, probably, they pray and don't actually think that God will "come through"
One perfect example is praying for someone with a deadly disease. I may pray, even every day, "God please heal Herbert of Cancer." But do I actually expect God to heal Herbert? I can tell you that I do not expect God to perform a miracle.
How does one grow? Well, my friend Erin keeps a list of things she has prayed for and then DOCUMENTS when they are answered. Surely, this increases faith.
I suppose if you ask God for food on the dinner table, or rain in a dry year and He says YES and provides miraculously, you may have more cause to believe than me asking for my nebulous concepts.
That is why specific prayers are helpful too. So instead of me just praying the Lord's prayer and asking for God's blessing in general, I should pray for specific things.
Now, whether I am single minded, and believing when I pray is another question, and something I struggle with.
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