I’M SAVED, NOW WHAT? (part-33)

I’M SAVED, NOW WHAT?

RIGHTEOUS PRAYER
In verse two, James was not saying that ‘asking God’ (praying) is a
way to get whatever we want. He may have suspected that some might
misinterpret what he meant, so he clarifies the intent of his comment.
    When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask
    with wrong motives, that you may spend what you
    get on your pleasures. (James 4:3)

James wanted others to understand that asking God for our needs is the
right thing to do, but some are praying with the wrong motives. Their
prayers are based on what they ‘want’ in order to fulfill their desires
for personal pleasure, and not according to their ‘needs’.

As an example, someone might pray to be a lottery winner. They may
even include something like, “With this money I will be able to tithe
more to Your ministry and have the time to serve You in many ways”.
It is easy to see that when someone prays in this manner, there is an
undertone of selfishness. It is also an indication that the person feels
the Lord has not blessed them sufficiently.

On the other hand, we can understand someone praying for airfare
money they do not have but need, in order to travel to a foreign country
in obedience to God’s call to be a missionary. In this example, praying
for the Lord to provide transportation is appropriate. James’ point is
that many may be praying for the wrong reasons. There are some
obvious ‘right’ reasons for prayer – we pray to:
    – Communicate with God (glorify Him).
    – Praise and thank God for our blessings past, present, and future.
    – Confess our sins and ask for forgiveness.
    – Surrender our will to His Will.
    – Express our concerns, including our concern for the needs of others.

If we discover that we have been praying selfishly, one way to break this
habit is to purposely spend time praying for others. We can pray for God
to heal others who are sick, convict those who are lost, lift the spirits of
those who are down, help others to endure adversities they are facing,
bring back those who have drifted away from Him, and increase the
spiritual maturity of the believers we know.

When we pray for others, it takes our focus off our own selfishness and
gives us a different perspective of those for whom we are praying. For
instance, if we know someone is having anger issues, our natural
tendency may be to ‘write them off’ as a friend or acquaintance.

However, when we pray for them, we become interested in how the
Lord is working in their life. When we see how God is effectively
changing them, it can be a reaffirmation of our own faith. Anytime
we witness answered prayers, we develop a greater appreciation of
God’s presence.

So, how do we benefit from prayer?

Prayer is the believer’s great privilege and powerful weapon
against Satan and his plans. The apostle Peter wrote,
    “Resist him, steadfast in the faith…” (1 Peter 5:9)

Similarly James says,
    “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil,
     and he will flee from you. Come near to God and
     he will come near to you…” (James 4:7-8)

Both of these godly men advised believers to oppose evil by
resisting it. We can do that by persevering in prayer. On the
surface, this form of resistance may appear to be passive,
but in practice it is always active, intentional, and powerful.

Resistance starts by making a decision to fight against evil
through prayer, (as many other believers are doing), rather
than retreating. Taking this position of godly opposition
takes strength and courage. It also requires patience and
perseverance.

Peter and James point to two key words at the heart of
our ability to resist the devil through our prayers:
    ‘faith’ in God,
    and ‘submission’ to His will.

Submission:
Submission to God means acknowledging that we can’t
but He can! In our prayers, we might tell the Lord,
    “I can’t defeat the Enemy on my own. But with You, I can!”
By taking this position, we join the apostle Paul in saying,
    “I can do all things through Him who gives me strength.”
     (Philippians 4:13)

James taught that submission occurs when we seek a closer
relationship with God. As we spend time in His Word and
in His presence, we get to know the Lord better. We also
learn about His desire for us to overcome evil and to enjoy
His blessings in our lives. By setting aside time solely to
listen and wait upon the Lord for direction and guidance,
we grow closer to Him.

Periodically hiding ourselves away from all other influences
and distractions is vital if we want to grow in the knowledge
of our God. The better we know Him, the more we see His
power, experience His love, and grow in faith and wisdom.

Pray and ask the Lord to put some people in your path who
will open your mind to better understand His Word. God
blesses some with the spiritual gift of helping others to see
some things in the scriptures that they may have been
missing. Be thankful and pray for those who are actively
serving the Lord in this manner.

Faith:
Faith can be summed up in the statement,
    “God, I believe You will!”
In our efforts to overcome the Evil One,
we might pray this way:
    “I believe You will defeat the Enemy and cause him
     to flee from me as I resist him, and put my trust in You.”

Again and again, David made his declaration of faith in the Lord:
    “I trust in you…” (Psalm 25.2)
    “…I trust in the LORD” (PSALM 31:6)
    “…But as for me, I trust in you.” (Psalm 55:23)
    “When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.” (Psalm 56:3)
    “Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love,
     for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should
     go, for to you I entrust my life.” (Psalm 143:8)

We grow in faith by exercising it; trusting God in every circumstance
and relationship. Over time, we develop a personal history with God
as He demonstrates His faithfulness and loving care for us. The result
is an ever-deepening relationship with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Ultimately, it’s impossible to resist the Devil for long if we don’t believe
that Jesus Christ can, and will, thwart Satan’s attempts to harm us.
Remaining strong in faith requires total submission to God in all areas
of our life – no exceptions. When we decide that we don’t need God’s
help in one area, that’s precisely where the Enemy will strike.

The good news is that God has given each of us a measure of faith
to nurture within our hearts. And by His grace, we have the capacity
to submit to His will. In whatever we do, remember the words of James:
    “Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”

Have you allowed yourself to believe you can fight and defeat the
powerful enemy, Satan, on your own? He has been destroying lives
for a long time, so he is good at it. He is prepared for all the attempts
to resist him without the help of the Lord. He loves it whenever man
tries to “take him on” in their own strength. It is like a powerful
professional heavyweight boxer taking on an amateur lightweight.

God is ready to help you defeat the enemy, but it isn’t going
to “just happen”. It requires your action of praying, submitting
to Him, and exercising faith. You are required to do something
other than just claim that you are a Christian, and say that God
will take care of you.

You have to adjust your life to fit God’s expectations, rather than
trying to adjust His principles to fit your lifestyle, habits, and desires.

What changes have you made in your own life in order to be like God
wants you to be? Name them, and also name the changes that you still
need to make. Don’t ever get the idea that you are submitting to Him
if you seldom worship Him on a regular basis.

Have you ever prayed for someone for some amount of time
but since nothing has changed, you made a choice to stop
praying for them? It may be an acquaintance, a friend, or
a member of your own family who is far from the Lord.

Ask yourself this question,
    “If I don’t pray for this person, who will pray for them?”

Then think about how Jesus prays for you.
    “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those
     who will believe in me through their message, that all
     of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and
     I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world
     may believe that you have sent me. I have given them
     the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we
     are one—I in them and you in me—so that they may
     be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know
     that you sent me and have loved them even as you have
     loved me.” (John 17:20-23)

Since Jesus continues to pray for us, then as His followers,
we should continue to pray for others. Praying for others
is not only good for them, but it beneficial for us as well.
It keeps us in touch with God and draws us closer to Him.

Whether another person changes is not up to us and should
not cause us to stop praying for them. Our responsibility is
to continue praying from a heart that genuinely wants to see
a change in the lives of others, but God is the one working to
actually change them, not us.

Lastly, imagine if Jesus thought,
    “I’ve been praying for (your name) for a long time
     but nothing is changing so I’m going to stop praying
     for him or her”.

Where would that leave us? Where does it leave others
when we stop praying for them? Look at what Paul
said to the believers of the church at Thessalonica (and to us):
    Rejoice always, PRAY CONTINUALLY, give thanks
    in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in
    Christ Jesus. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)

Think about this when you pray for someone who is far
from God, and you have a sincere concern for their salvation:
    – Your first response to your concerns
      should be to seek the Lord.
    – God will hear your concerns.
    – God is interested in your concerns.
    – God is greater than your concerns.
    – God may want to involve you (and others)
      as part of His answer to your concerns.
    – God’s response may require an act of faith
      (He may want you to do something specifically).
    – God loves you too much to respond to your prayers without
      dealing with your spiritual condition at the same time.
    – God is interested in growing you
      spiritually as you pray for others.
    – God works to transform you in the midst of your
      concern and prayers for others.

Pray,
“Heavenly Father, I am in a battle that I cannot win on
my own. As I pray, submit to You, exercise my faith, and
get to know You better, I know that I will have a greater
trust in You. Forgive me for my egotism and smugness
that has convinced me that I can resist Satan in my own
strength. I now realize that the more I become humble,
the more I can rely on Your strength and power to help
me be victorious in resisting the devil. Forgive me for
ceasing to pray for others who do not know You. Remind
me of the importance of my prayers and how it helps me to
grow spiritually whenever I pray for the salvation of others”

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