PRAYER

“THE PRAYER………” – James 5:16

What is prayer?

“Prayer is worship addressed to the Father, in the name of  Christ, and the power of the Holy Spirit.” – Dr. H. W. Frost

For me prayer is talking with the Lord Jesus Christ!

“…..OF A RIGHTEOUS MAN…..” – James 5:16

What is a righteous man? Do you know?

I have learned that the Bible teaches that we will  be  judged by God according to our works. But there are our standards and there are the standards of God. Is our standard sufficient for God’s standard? The answer is NO!

What now?

Let us find out what the apostle Paul says about righteousness.

Paul talks about the righteousnss of moral effort. He calls it “the righteousness of the law”. He calls it also “my own righteousness” (Romans 10:1-6).

Paul talks also about the righteousness of God.

He makes a distinction between the righteousness of God and “my own righteouesness”.

The righteousness of God is received as a gift. Please read Romans 5:17. We receive the gift of Christ’s righteousness by believing. Please read Romans 3:22.

Judgment is coming. Are you clothed with the righteousness of Christ? Only those who  are clothed with the righteousness of Christ are justly acquitted and accepted as righteous. Read Romans 3:26

What is the central fact of the gospel? (Romans 1:17) The answer: God has provided this righteousness for us sinners.

“…IS POWERFUL  AND….” – James 5:16

Another translation says “great power”.

“…EFFECTIVE.” – James 5:16

The NLT translation of the Bible says  “….produces wonderful results.”

In James 5:17,18  we are reading about an example of how powerful the prayer of a righteous man is and how wonderful the result is.

Let us be encouraged:

“Elijah was a man just like us.”