Prayer of Faith and Love of a Righteous Man
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June 27, 2010 |
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 "And the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him. Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much." (James 5:15~16)
If we love someone we have great concerns for him and take delight in doing what he needs. God has much interest in prayers and supplications of His beloved children. He promises in Jeremiah 3:3, "Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know." If we call out and pray to God, He will not only answer quickly in love but also tell us great and mighty things. What kinds of prayer does God accept and answer?
First is the prayer of faith.
Hebrews 11:6 reads, "And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him." Faith here has to be the faith to create something from nothingness and to trust God completely.
Abraham had this complete faith so that he fully believed God would be able to do the things that are totally impossible with human strength and ability (Romans 4:17-22). Because he believed in the power of God who would be able to raise the dead, he obeyed with saying "Amen" the command of God telling him to offer his only son Isaac as a burnt offering (Hebrews 11:17-19). Joshua and Caleb, after scouting the land of Canaan, boldly confessed, "do not fear the people of the land, for they will be our prey" because they fully believed the Word of God in the face of the impossible reality (Numbers 14:8-9).
Whatever kind of difficulties he is faced with, a person of true faith doesn't have any worry or anxiety but patiently waits with faith and prays with joy and thanksgiving until he receives answers. Then, God will accept his prayer of faith and answer his prayer quickly.
Second is the prayer of love.
The definition of love is recorded in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 saying, "Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things."
The love that God wants us to have is spiritual love characterized to be not self-seeking but sacrificial and unchanging. Spiritual love never changes or perishes with the passing of time but leads to eternal life.
Jesus loved us with this spiritual love so that He poured out all His blood and water on the cross, redeemed us from our sins, and led us out of the path to everlasting death and into the path to salvation and eternal life. God the Father also loved us to the point that He sent His only begotten Son Jesus to be crucified for us, and is patiently waiting for us to change and come forth as His true children.
We should also accomplish the love of the Lord. If we love God first of all and love our neighbors as ourselves like the Lord, our prayers can be pleasing to God and receive His answers as quickly as possible.
Third is the prayer of a righteous man.
Daniel was wrongfully accused by evil schemes of wicked people and cast into the lion's den. But he was protected because he had never compromised with unrighteousness and prayed to God unchangingly. When the king and the people in the city of Nineveh repented and turned back at the warning of God of destruction, God considered it as an act of righteousness and didn't destroy them. When the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed, God saved Lot from that destruction by the prayer of a righteous man, Abraham.
What kind of person can be called 'a righteous man'? A righteous man does righteousness in the sight of God. He casts off every form of evil and obeys the will of God (Romans 2:13).
The second half of Romans 1:17 reads, "But the righteous man shall live by faith." True righteousness doesn't refer to self-righteousness but God's righteousness. Even if all his possessions are taken away in a day, a righteous man should give thanks and believe God will cause everything to work for the good for him. A righteous man should be able to please God by faith in any circumstances and situations.
No matter what kind of loss he may suffer, a righteous man does not compromise with the world but seeks goodness and obeys the truth unchangingly. Therefore, if we are recognized as a righteous man by God and pray to God with faith and love, we can receive whatever we ask for.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, in whatever kind of circumstances you fall, may you please God by offering the prayer of a righteous man with faith and love like fathers of faith and always dwell in the love and confirmation of God, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ I pray!
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