Dave's Diary

This week we come to our final section of James 5 and consider the life of prayerfulness.

Daily Readings: James 5:13-18; 1 Kings 17:1 and 1 Kings 18:41-46

The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.

James 5:16

To restate the above in the context of James 4, we might say: Out of intimacy with Christ (4:7-8a) and a life in submission to Christ (8b-10), a powerful and effective prayer life is born.

James 5:16 really should not surprise us at all. According to James 4, their prayers were not being answered either because they did not pray or because when they prayed their motives were self-centred. But when one has repented of one’s sin, humbled oneself before the Lord, turned ones back on the world and enthroned Jesus as absolute King, one is restored to right-standing with God (righteousness). This means one is free to live in intimacy with Jesus. This in turn means that one would be in step with the Spirit of Jesus as one prays. One would know what to pray in order to please Christ, and, because one’s prayers would be in line with His desires, one could be assured that they would be powerful and effective.

James gives the example of Elijah – an ordinary human being like us. Living before Christ, it was purely by the grace of God that he lived in intimacy with the LORD. He did not have the indwelling Holy Spirit, but he was so attentive to the voice of God that he knew when to declare that it would not rain for three years. And when that time was up, he also knew when to pray for the supernatural drought to be broken. His prayers were in step with the will of God and they were powerful and effective!

The lesson for us is: If you desire a powerful and effective prayer life, don’t focus on how or where or when you pray, what words you use or what Scriptures you quote. These things are helpful, but they’re not the heart of the matter. The powerful and effective prayer life is born out of intimacy with the Lord and submission to Him. So set your heart on drawing near, listening and then responding in prayer.

Lord, I surrender all to You. Please draw me close to You in intimacy, and teach me how to pray in step with Your will today. Amen.