KJB Daily Devotion – Following Jesus Through Every Chapter
Date: Sunday, April 30, 2017
Chapters: Psalms 102-104
Message: The Effectual Fervent Prayer
Hello My Friend,
I have to admit that when I pray it is not always genuine, prayer becomes so routine that you just pray because it is what you do. Do you think God cannot tell when we are really talking and pleading with Him? Of course, He can. Do not get me wrong, God likes to hear our prayers, He knows our heart and that is what gets His attention when we speak. We do not even have to speak a lot of words for Him to hear us, but let me tell you when we really pour out our heart to Him, He listens, and you know and feel His presence when He does. “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 5:16.
Affliction; a state of pain, distress, or grief. We do not like affliction, but more often than we like we do have to deal with a lot of pain, distress, or grief over our lifetime, some of us more than others. As Christians we learn to get through the affliction with God, but sometimes that does not help, and that is when we cry out to God.
“A Prayer of the afflicted, when he is overwhelmed, and poureth out his complaint before the LORD. Hear my prayer, O LORD, and let my cry come unto thee. Hide not thy face from me in the day when I am in trouble; incline thine ear unto me: in the day when I call answer me speedily. Mine enemies reproach me all the day; and they that are mad against me are sworn against me. For I have eaten ashes like bread, and mingled my drink with weeping, Because of thine indignation and thy wrath: for thou hast lifted me up, and cast me down. My days are like a shadow that declineth; and I am withered like grass. But thou, O LORD, shalt endure for ever; and thy remembrance unto all generations. Thou shalt arise, and have mercy upon Zion: for the time to favour her, yea, the set time, is come.” – Psalm 102:1-2,8-13.
“the set time, is come.” Affliction does not last forever, there is always an expected end, somethings we deal with for only a short while, while other things we deal with until God takes us home, but no matter the time frame God chooses, He always gives us a way to endure it. “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.” – Jeremiah 29:11-13.
“when ye shall search for me with all your heart.” There is it right there, the heart. As much as we say we love God and while we are truly faithful to Him, our heart can often get in the way of our faith in Him. The heart gets flooded with emotions that cloud our thinking and before you know it you are doing something that you ought not to be doing out of desperation. That is of course, when more affliction comes until we give Him our whole heart.
“A Psalm of David. Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies; The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger for ever. He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us. Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him. For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust.” – Psalms 103:1-4,8-14.
“he remembereth that we are dust.” This is why our soul is more important to God than our flesh, the flesh stinks, and as much as we as try to control our flesh, it is always desiring things it does not need or not good for us. God knows our flesh, that it is full of lust, desires, and emotions that quite frankly bring death upon us, and it can bring us to do some unthinkable things sometimes, especially when we are being afflicted. The saved soul, that belongs to the LORD, it is cleansed by His blood, therefore, we are redeemed, our transgressions have been removed, and one day we will be removed of this wretched flesh and put on our new glorified bodies that will never see corruption again. “Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.” – I Corinthians 15:51-54.
Let me tell you, we suffer a lot more than we ought to be. There are some things in this world that we have to deal with, the majority of our suffering is self inflicted, meaning we chose to deal with it without God’s direction and fell short of His glory. Think about everything that He created, every creature does what it was designed to do, they to not go out of their realm, they remain within their element, following whatever path was given to them by God. That is except for us humans, since we have our own freewill we do what we want to do then wonder where God is when the afflictions start overwhelming us.
“He appointed the moon for seasons: the sun knoweth his going down. Thou makest darkness, and it is night: wherein all the beasts of the forest do creep forth. The young lions roar after their prey, and seek their meat from God. The sun ariseth, they gather themselves together, and lay them down in their dens. Man goeth forth unto his work and to his labour until the evening. O LORD, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches. The glory of the LORD shall endure for ever: the LORD shall rejoice in his works. He looketh on the earth, and it trembleth: he toucheth the hills, and they smoke. I will sing unto the LORD as long as I live: I will sing praise to my God while I have my being. My meditation of him shall be sweet: I will be glad in the LORD.” – Psalm 104:19-24,31-34.
“I will be glad in the LORD.” While we might be fussy, whiny, or ungrateful sometimes, we are also joyful, happy, and thankful most of the time. This is why God looks on our whole heart, not the one full of emotions. God is so amazing, everything that He created is at His hand and His command, we need not worry about tomorrow, or even today because God has got it covered. Effectual; producing the effect desired or intended, Fervent; Hot; boiling. God does not care about long winded prayers that have no care to them, He wants wholehearted, down on your knees, passionate prayer. Sometimes it takes a lot of pleading with God, including fasting, but never underestimate the power of the effectual fervent prayer. “And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.” – I John 5:14-15.
Jesus Christ Magnified: “But thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end.” – Psalm 102:27. Today, Jesus is revealed as the one who is the same and has no end. Jesus is the same forever. “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever. Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines. For it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace; not with meats, which have not profited them that have been occupied therein.” – Hebrews 13:8,9.
Today’s Prayer: Jesus, You made a promise to us the second we believed in You, that You are preparing a place for us, and I believe that promise. When our expectations of life seem to be one disappointment after another it is easy to forget Your promise and what You have done for us. Lord, Teach us to pray, not out of necessity, but out of faith. You are our strength, our hope, our vision for something much better than anything we can get on earth. Give us that strength to keep walking with You faithfully, following Your commands, not for the sake of our salvation, but to honor and thank You for making us new. Let us be ready and prepared today because You could be here tomorrow. In Your name, Jesus. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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