KJB Daily Devotion – Following Jesus Through Every Chapter
Date: Sunday, October 30, 2016
Chapters: Luke 18
Message: The Effectual Fervent Prayer
Hello My Friend,
Prayer, taking our petitions to God. As much as we all like to think that we have a great prayer life, I believe that praying to God is one of the hardest things to do is to pray for ourselves. I watched a movie about a pastor who lost his wife, he would say prayers for others, but not for himself, I have done that at times. We are often told that all things are possible with God so to pray big, yet the bigger we pray the less we get, so it seems. This is not another message about why God does not answer prayers, cause God answers all prayers in His time and way, this is a message about never giving up on God doing amazing things in your life through prayer. “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.
“The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” Fervent, having or showing great warmth or intensity of spirit, feeling, enthusiasm. When we pray, God wants us to be excited about it, I can understand when you are in such pain that just saying the words is all you can do, and believe me God hears those prayers too, but when we pray, even for ourselves, we need to pray as though we know He hears up. I will admit that when I was praying this morning I fussed at God and even said why do I bother praying for myself, and then this parable that Jesus spoke was the first thing I read after that whinny session I had with God.
“And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint; Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man: And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary. And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man; Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.” – Luke 18:1-5.
“Yet because this widow troubleth me,” Trouble, To afflict; to grieve; to distress. We must understand that God wants to hear our prayers, He is not tired of hearing us talk to Him, even if we do complain to Him, He wants to hear it all, especially since He already knows how we feel. God often grieves over our pleas, He sees how sincere and desperate we are for help, and how much faith we have in Him, even if all we do is fuss at Him and tell Him how we feel. “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” – Philippians 4:6-7.
One thing that can cause us to lose our effectiveness with our prayers is pride, we do everything possible to live a godly life so we expect God to use our good works to our advantage. The problem comes when our prayers become more about our own righteousness than how sinful we are. The best way to get God’s attention is not brag about all the things we do for Him, which He already knows, it is about humbling ourselves to Him, as the sinners we are. Through another parable Jesus teaches us this valuable lesson.
“And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.” – Luke 18:9-14.
“for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased;” Abased, To cast down; to reduce low; to depress; to degrade. It does us no good to compare ourselves to someone else, we are all sinners, and until we learn to understand we need God’s mercy every day we are not going to get God’s attention. Does God want to give us the things we desire? Sure He does, if it something that will bring Him glory. Our prayers become effective only when we are humble, when He knows that He will get the glory for it, and we are not going to brag about what we have done. “For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God.” – II Corinthians 4:15.
Another way for our prayers to be effectual is persistence, God wants persistence, and also consistence. If we are constantly changing how we feel and only praying for it when we feel like it we are not going to be effective, but consistent asking in faith does. As Jesus was traveling through Jericho a blind man sitting on the side of the road heard some commotion and asked what was going on, when he heard it was Jesus He cried out to Him.
“And hearing the multitude pass by, he asked what it meant. And they told him, that Jesus of Nazareth passeth by. And he cried, saying, Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me. And they which went before rebuked him, that he should hold his peace: but he cried so much the more, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me. And Jesus stood, and commanded him to be brought unto him: and when he was come near, he asked him, Saying, What wilt thou that I shall do unto thee? And he said, Lord, that I may receive my sight. And Jesus said unto him, Receive thy sight: thy faith hath saved thee. And immediately he received his sight, and followed him, glorifying God: and all the people, when they saw it, gave praise unto God.” – Luke 18:36-43.
“but he cried so much the more,” What a way to get Jesus’ attention, when everyone tried to shut him up, but he got louder. That is what we need to do when things like circumstances, affliction, and emotions that try to stop us from getting God’s attention. When we absolutely do not want to talk to God that is when we need to cry out to Him louder. Prayer is something that we do not always want to do, it takes time, brings out emotions, especially if it is something we have been wanting a long time, it often convicts us, something we do not want, but prayer also does something that nothing else can do, it gets us talking to God. Let me tell you, God does not answer our prayers by how good we are, but by our faith and consistency in what we are asking. Jesus said, and I am paraphrasing, “If a man asks for a fish, will he get a snake?” God knows what we have need of, He will never give us something that is going to harm us, so think about what you are asking, perhaps it is time to be consistent with some new prayers, ones that will give Him glory. “Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?” – Matthew 7:10-11.
Jesus Christ Magnified: “Then he took unto him the twelve, and said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished.” – Luke 18:31.
Today’s Prayer: God, Thank You for giving us a way to communicate with You one on one, we do not need a priest or some prophet to speak to You for us, we just need Your Son in us. There is nothing more joyful than to see You answer prayer, and it is not for my own glory, it is for Yours. Lord, as much as I know that prayer is effective and powerful, it is not so easy to be consistent in my praying when I am not feeling well or have things going on that never seem to get resolved. Everything you give us comes through Your time and will, so if I am asking You for anything that does not give You glory let me know so I can be more effective in my praying. Lead me, guide me, search my heart, know my thoughts, help me to be consistent and persistent in my prayers, and continue to show me that You hear me. In Jesus’ name….Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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