Drop One Hundred Fifty-Four
James 5:13 - 16
“Is anyone among you suffering? Then he must pray. Is anyone cheerful? He is to sing praises. Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, an if he has committed sims, 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.” (NASB1995).
James 5:16 has been on my mind most of this week. We have no righteousness on our own, as Romans 3:10 reminds us – “…THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE...” (NASB1995). But, through Christ’s sacrifice “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21, NASB1995). We cannot be effective in our prayers without first being clothed in the righteousness of Christ. Forgive those that have wronged you (after all, there are those that you have wronged whether you realize it or not). Pray in humility with faith. Jesus stated to those that He healed, “…your faith has made you well” (Matthew 9:22; Mark 5:34; Luke 7:50, 8:48, 17:19, 18:42). He has chosen us to be His children. We have the option to choose Him as Father because Jesus accepted the assignment to redeem us from our folly.
Spirit of the living God
Spirit of the living God
fall afresh on me.
Spirit of the living God
fall afresh on me.
Melt me, mould me, fill me, use me.
Spirit of the living God
fall afresh on me.
Spirit of the living God
move among us all;
make us one in heart and mind;
make us one in love;
humble, caring, selfless, sharing.
Spirit of the living God
fill our lives with love!
Father in Heaven,
You alone are worthy of all glory, honor and praise. Without You, this world has no love, no forgiveness, no grace – no hope. With You, all things are possible. We can love, forgive, offer grace and rejoice in hope through the power of The Holy Spirit. Thank You for sending Jesus to be the perfect atonement for our sins. Thank You for sending the Holy Spirit to reside in us. May we not grieve The Holy Spirit, but live in the power and truth that You alone provide.
In the name of Jesus we pray,
AMEN
