Start with confessing
your sins
to each other
and
praying for each other
so that healing can take place.
Asking for forgiveness
and forgiving.
The big answer to why is:
That the earnest prayer
of a righteous person
has great power
and
produces wonderful results.
Wondering how to pray? How to get started? Wondering what to say?
Keep it simple, heartfelt, full-of-faith. God knows what we are in need of before we even ask. We need to be asking believing that God can. God doesn’t need a big production.
Trying to impress yourself or others in how you pray? We don’t need to impress God with eloquent words, phrases, or how we sound. Keep it simple and have a little chat with God. We are to be talking with Him all the time, so we shouldn’t need to try and make it overly complex.
God wants us to talk to Him like a friend. He is our best friend who sticks closer to us than a brother or sister. Do you believe God? Then you are a friend of God, just like Abraham. James 2:23 says:
23 And so it happened just as the Scriptures say: “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.” He was even called the friend of God.
We don’t need to change how we talk just because we are speaking to God.
Our prayers don’t have to be hours long – now I am not saying that when you are taking time in fasting and prayer you can’t pray for that long, just that in general you don’t need to. It is good to set a time to spend in God’s presence and to speak with Him. And when prompted by the Holy Spirit to pray start then.
Let’s pray with purpose. Let’s pray and ask God into our lives. Let’s pray and get God’s help in our lives and the lives of those around us. Let’s pray and involve God in our lives. Let’s take time to allow Him to live life with us. It’s not a show, it’s our way of communicating and spending time with God.
– Notes from today’s devotional —
Simplify Your Prayers
16 Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.
James 5:16
Prayer Starter: (from today’s devotional)
Holy Spirit, don’t let me turn prayer into a performance! I don’t want to overdo it and try and pray too long just to impress You. I want to invite You, as my closest friend, into every aspect of my life.
Heavenly Father,
I thank You for this new day and for all that You will bring into it. I praise You Lord for being my rock where I know I can stand firm. I praise You Lord for being my strong tower where I can find safety and refuge. Lord, You know the attacks the enemy is trying to make in my life and how he is trying to get me off of my game. Lord, give me the strength and the courage to stand up to him. Lord, give me the wisdom and the words to speak to break free and stand upon Your Word. Lord, Your Word never returns void and I praise You Lord for never leaving me nor forsaking me. As I start this day I lift it up to You and ask for Your hand over me and my family. I pray Lord that You would allow our time today serving our church and raising our children to be times that shine Your light of hope and life and love over everyone we encounter and I pray Lord that in and through all we think, say and do, You receive the praise, the honor, and the glory in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Fearful to Fearless
From east to west everyone will fear him and his great power. He will come like a rushing river, like a strong wind. The Lord says to his people, I will come to Jerusalem to defend you and to save all of you that turn from your sins. And I make a covenant with you: I have given you my power and my teachings to be yours forever, and from now on you are to obey me and teach your children and your descendants to obey me for all time to come.
Isaiah 59:19-21 (GNT)
Biblical Truth:
Empowered by the Spirit we share the gospel message of Christ who was sent on our behalf to defend against evil, so that across the earth all will bow down and worship the Father.
Chronological
