Today's Reading:
Acts 27:13-44
1 Samuel 3
Psalm 51
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| Listen to the Bible |
Thoughts and Commentary on Today's Reading:
Today I want to focus on Samuel. What a beautiful story of a young boy who could say - and mean - "Speak, Yah, for Thy servant heareth Thee." That is where we should all be! With that goal in mind, I'd like to share what it takes to speak so God will listen and listen so God will speak. Every Christian needs Effective Prayer.
Prayer is not only the vital link
of communication between God and His people, it is also the breath of Heaven.
While studying from the Scriptures is spiritual eating, prayer is spiritual
breathing. Understanding this helps us gain perspective on how important it is
to have a vital prayer life. With it, we are truly alive in Christ!
The Bible tells us that effective prayers are strong against the enemy,
accomplishing much. “...The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth
much,” James 5:16. It is important to have an effective
prayer life. Prayer is like breathing - spiritually.
Isn’t all prayer equal in power and
effect? No. As we read in James 5:16, a
righteous man’s fervent prayers are effectual. But when we continue to do evil,
God does not respond with equal power in answer to our prayers.
1 Peter 3:12 “For the Eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and His ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil.”
When we read that a righteous person’s
prayers are effective, most of us just give up the idea of having an effective
prayer life. We aren’t righteous! So, apparently the goal of effective prayer
is beyond our reach. If this were true, no human would have ever had an
effective prayer life. Every man, woman, and child on this planet, who has ever
lived has committed sin (done evil), as it says in Romans 3:10 & 23:
“... There is none righteous, no, not one… ALL have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.”
Yet, Esther prayed and God turned the
heart of a king; Daniel prayed and God stopped the lions’ mouths; Elijah prayed
and fire fell from Heaven; and numerous others have prayed effectively and with
power.
Righteousness is not earned, it is
imputed by the life and death of our Saviour.
This
means that Christ’s quality of living a righteous and obedient life is
accounted to the record of any sinner who claims His salvation by faith.
1 Corinthians 1:30-31 “But of Him are ye in Christ Jesus, Who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: that, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in Yahweh.”
The righteousness of Christ is a free
gift to all. But, this does not mean that everyone is made righteous. We have a
part to play in receiving it. The Bible tells us that if we will repent from
and confess our past sins, that we will be clothed in the righteousness of
Christ. (1 John 1:9 and Isaiah 61:10.)
Repentance for our past sins involves us
humbling ourselves before God. We are to wholeheartedly seek after Him, truly
be sorry for our rebellion, and turn away from our sinful attitudes,
thought-patterns, and behaviors. When we do this, Christ’s righteousness
clothes us, and He establishes an open prayer-line. This is how to have
effective prayers (2 Chronicles 7:14).
It is only when we don’t fully seek God
and repent that we can’t pray with power. But we cannot afford to keep limping
along with weak, milk-toast, mamby-pamby,
prayers. It’s time to become effectual prayer warriors! God wants His people to
pray with such power that even the gates of hell cannot prevail (Matthew 16:18)!
Such prayers transform lives and glorify God.
But what if you’re too busy to
pray? Prioritize and MAKE time for it!
Get up at 4:00 or 5:00 AM, if necessary, in order to have a vital prayer life.
You cannot be a real Christian, fully alive in Christ, without breathing
(praying)! Christ,
our Example in all things (1 Peter 2:21), had a vital prayer life. He would
often spend entire nights in prayer. It was from this prayer time that the Saviour was
strengthened to minister and to meet Satan’s temptations without sin. If Christ
needed to pray, how much more do you and I need to do it? To help in the
process of prioritizing, consider what it means to be too busy to pray:
B = Burdened
U = Under
S = Satan's
Y = Yoke
