I’M SAVED, NOW WHAT? (part-59)

I’M SAVED, NOW WHAT?

EFFECTIVE PRAYER
In order to encourage believers to pray,
    James gives us two examples of how prayer can be effective.
    Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed
    earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on
    the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed,
    and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its
    crops. (James 5:17-18)

Elijah’s prayer for a drought was announced.
    Now Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead,
    said to Ahab, “As the LORD, the God of Israel,
    lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew
    nor rain in the next few years except at my word.”
    (1 Kings 17:1)

Elijah’s prayer for rain is described.
    And Elijah said to Ahab, “Go, eat and drink,
    for there is the sound of a heavy rain.”So Ahab
    went off to eat and drink, but Elijah climbed to
    the top of Carmel, bent down to the ground and
    put his face between his knees. “Go and look
    toward the sea,” he told his servant. And he went
    up and looked. “There is nothing there,” he said.
    Seven times Elijah said, “Go back.” The seventh
    time the servant reported, “A cloud as small as a
    man’s hand is rising from the sea.” So Elijah
    said, “Go and tell Ahab, ‘Hitch up your chariot
    and go down before the rain stops you.’” Meanwhile,
    the sky grew black with clouds, the wind rose, a heavy
    rain started falling and Ahab rode off to Jezreel. The
    power of the LORD came on Elijah and, tucking his
    cloak into his belt, he ran ahead of Ahab all the way
   to Jezreel. (1 Kings 18:41-46)

James points out that Elijah was no superhuman, but merely
a normal human being like us. According to James, one
distinguishing characteristic about his prayer was, Elijah
prayed ‘earnestly’. The definition of earnest is ‘full seriousness
as of intention and purpose’. That means that Elijah was
serious about his prayers and the results he expected to see.

I am afraid that many believers have ‘hope so’ prayers. They
pray hoping that God will answer their prayers. However it
appears that Elijah’s prayer was more of a “God this is really
needed!” type of prayer.

Since the people of his land had started turning to other idols,
Elijah knew it was important for God to assert Himself as the
only true God of the universe. His faith was so strong (earnest)
that he announced to the people that there would be a drought,
before it happened.

This was not an ordinary drought either, it was one that would
last for a few years. Since Elijah made his announcement before
the drought began, he shows us that ‘earnest’ can also mean a
confidence that God will answer our prayers.

There are some questions we should probably
ask ourselves regarding our prayer life:
    What do I pray for?
        Are my prayers restricted to requests to me and my family?
        Do my prayers include much more than selfish requests?
        Do I pray for forgiveness of my sins (and confess them)?
        Do I pray for those who have offended me, or treated me rudely?
        Do I pray for others who are hurting, sick, injured, or lost
        even though I don’t know them personally?
        When I know others are praying for someone, do I join in or do
        I decide since there are others praying, m prayers are not needed?
            (Note: God may be awaiting our prayer before He responds).
        We should never be too selfish or arrogant to pray for others
        who are in desperate need of prayer (even if it seems like something
        small to us, it could be extremely important to them personally).

    When do I pray?
        Never?
        Only during bad times?
        Only at special times?
        Do I have a time set aside for prayer each day?
        In addition to the time I have set aside,
        do I also pray throughout the day
        (thanking God for something good when it happens,
        or asking Him to help me with a difficult situation
        or a difficult decision)?

    Am I on praying ground?
        Am I really committed to God, or am I playing religion?
        Am I living a life of obedience to the best of my ability, or am
        I allowing unconfessed sin to block the channels of my prayers?

    Do I pray earnestly?
        Do I mumble a few words before meals and at bedtime?
        Do I sincerely have a burden for the things I pray about?
        Do I look forward to prayer as a time to communicate with God?

    Do I pray in faith?
        Am I confident that God will do whatever
        is needed to provide an answer to my prayer?
        Am I ready to accept His solution when it is
        different than the one I was expecting?

Is your prayer life healthy or anemic?
    Devote yourselves to prayer,
    being watchful and thankful.
    (Colossians 4:2)

If someone were to ask you if you thought prayer is very important
for believers, the chances are you would agree that it is an essential
part of the Christian life. However, if someone asked you if you were
committed to a fervent prayer life, you may not be able to answer
with an affirmative.

Too many folks allow the busyness of life to rob them of the time
they would spend in prayer. Making prayer a high priority is a
struggle for many as they fight for allocation of their time.

Sometimes we over-commit ourselves and our time for prayer
suffers as a result. The demands of our jobs can steal our
prayer time. Prayer time can be a casualty of hobbies, sleep,
television, attitudes, lack of concern for others, or any number
of other things. The problem is, too many fail to give prayer its
proper priority.

If prayer is really important, then we should set aside a certain
amount of time to pray. One of the greatest benefits of prayer is,
it changes us. When we pray, it puts us in touch with God and
His direction for us.

It also contributes to our being humble as we pray for others.
We live fast-paced, hectic lives, but we have a tendency to try
to handle everything ourselves. When we exhaust our attempts,
we carry our burdens to God as a last resort.

It is only through prayer that we can get a better understanding
of the Lord’s ways. Prayer draws us closer to Him and helps us
to know Him better. Look at our advice in 1 Peter:
    Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
    (1 Peter 5:7)
How can we ‘cast our anxieties on Him’ without praying faithfully?

We can see the connection between anxieties and prayer in Philippians:
    Do not be anxious about anything, but in every
    situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving,
    present your requests to God. (Philippians 4:6)
Again, prayer is the venue for alleviating anxieties.

Have you ever prayed about an issue, but picked it up again
and tried to resolve it yourself? It is only through a continuous
prayer life that we are able to release our cares and place them
in God’s hands. When we have committed our life to Him and
have a desire for His will to be our will, then and only then,
can we cast our cares upon Him and leave them there.

Prayer is the greatest tool the Christian has at his or her disposal.
Continuous prayer produces faith, moves mountains, and molds
us into the character and image of God. In 1 Thessalonians we are
told to pray continuously.
    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)
We should set aside a time every day for prayer,
but we should also pray throughout the day.
When we fail to pray, we are saying we don’t trust God.
When we fail to pray for others, it is a sign of selfishness.

If you haven’t done so already, set aside a specific time for prayer
and pray faithfully at that time each day. Purposefully pray for
someone else when you pray. Always remember to thank the Lord
for His blessings.

Occasionally spend your entire prayer time just thanking God
for every blessing you can recall. As mentioned earlier, when
you do, you may discover that your prayer time is much longer
than normal.

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