“….The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much” (James 5:16b).
In week two I shared the first part of James 5:16. I return to www.biblegateway.com for these comments on the remaining part of our verse. “The term righteous is a call for every believer to reach towards righteousness. All along James has been urging his readers to resist the temptation to compromise righteousness in their trials. Now, with the designation of the one praying as righteous with the shift in terms from general “prayer” to specific “entreaty,” the implication is as follows: In your trials, you don’t need the power gained by money or favoritism or selfishness or fighting or swearing; use the power of prayer, for which you need righteousness.” Later in the article we find these words: “James is merely convinced that genuinefaith will express itself in righteousness, and, the prayer of genuine faith is the prayer that is effective….confident beelief in God’s grace will makeme strong for acting righteously in the midst of trials.”
I’m thankful that, through the years, I have been surrounded by genuine prayer warriors. I value their prayers for me. Often times we intercede in behalf of others that God would give them physical or spiritual healing. However, we might neglect praying for our own needs. Never be ashamed to reach fellow Christian to pray for your own healing. It’s been proven, “the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”
Sue Winchester
Missouri
PRAY TOGETHER: On this darkest of days, pray that God’s light would shine forth brightly through believers’ efforts to share the gospel and goodness of God with children who come trick-or-treating.
