READING: Ezekiel 20:32-21:32, James 4:13-5:20
In my role at Southeastern Seminary, I’m privileged to help the SEBTS community become a praying community. I’m grateful for this honor, yet I confess that I have SO much to learn still about prayer. I’m learning more and more about the necessity of a strong relationship with God out of which prayer most readily and naturally comes. I’m figuring out how to develop an unceasing prayer life, and I’m coming to the place where prayer is much more a delight than a discipline. I suspect as much as anything, I’m learning that the more you know about prayer, the more you realize you have to grow.
Today, I’m particularly reminded of the power of prayer of righteous people. Using the example of Elijah—a man much like us, but who through his prayers could halt and restart the rain—James reminds us that, “The prayer of a righteous person is very powerful in its effect” (James 5:16). The combination of a faithful, righteous person speaking to God and a prayer-answering God who wants to hear from us can be mighty indeed. I’ve seen much happen on the heels of the passionate prayer of godly people, including, jobs regained, bodies healed, defiant sinners saved, marriages renewed, families made whole, bills unexpectedly paid, broken friendships restored, congregations revitalized, and people groups reached.
What I must remember today is this: God is still the same, His plan is still the same, and He still works through prayer in mighty ways. Our heartfelt, often desperate words to Him built on a strong relationship with Him can genuinely make a difference.
PRAYER: “Lord, I need to remember these words today as I pray for people we’ve been trying to reach for years.”
TOMORROW’S READING: Ezekiel 22-23, 1 Peter 1