Being righteous
…The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much (James 5:16, KJV).
If you asked some Christians if they were righteous, you would get different funny answers. Many Christians are unsure if they are righteous or not. That righteousness is misunderstood among Christians and some ministers cannot be over-emphasized.
Since many saved Christians doubt their righteousness, they don’t pray with the level of authority they ought to pray with. Since they lack the confidence of their righteousness through Christ, they pray in a manner that suggests that they have to beg God against His wish perhaps He’ll just pity them and do something about the way the devil has been ‘bullying’ them. Eventually, they are always being put on the run by the devil.
The example of a righteous man Apostle James referred to in today’s text was Elijah (See James 5: 17,18). His prayer was so effectual and fervent that he stopped rain from falling for three and a half years. He even called down fire from heaven! But was Elijah a perfect man? No. For example, he made a wrong assumption that he was the only man of God left in Israel. But God had to correct him that He still had 7,000 men that had not bowed to the idol, Baal. Here, Elijah was wrong and sinned.
In fact, Elijah also got fearful. After calling down fire from heaven and killing hundreds of idol worshippers, a single woman’s threat put Elijah to flight! Obviously Elijah wasn’t a superhuman after all. He was not without his own flaws. But the Bible still says he was a righteous man. So, to be righteous doesn’t mean you will be always right, but makes you sensitive enough to the Holy Spirit as to see where you have missed it and readily admit your flaws.
And in the occasion of sin, the Bible says in I Jn. 1:9, ‘If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from ALL UNRIGHTEOUSNESS’… so that we can be restored to righteousness. If you are a child of God, and this message is clear to you, by now you should have realized that we too can pray effectual fervent prayers. But the question is, ‘Are we willing to pray like he did?’ May God help us.
Today’s corporate prayer: O Lord, I stand in your righteousness and I command every evil prevailing in my life to expire. In the name of Jesus!
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BIBLE IN A YEAR: Job 35 – 36
Also Read: The God of Grace
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OLUWAGBENRO BLESSED is a writer, musician, an evangelist, a teacher and student of the Bible. He, alongside his wife Nike, coordinates the GraceToday Foundation. Together with their team, they reach out to millions of souls everyday via various social network platforms with God’s words of grace, healing and restoration. Lots of testimonies are being received to God’s glory.
