Greg Laurie Harvest Daily Devotional

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Harvest Daily with Greg Laurie - June 23, 2006



Just Like Us

 

“The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.”

—James 5:16

 

When we read the words of James 5:16, which says, “The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much,” we might think, “That counts me out.  I am not a righteous person.”

 

In a technical sense, this is true of all of us.  None of us are flawless.  But in another sense, those of us who have put their faith in Christ are righteous, because He has deposited His righteousness into our account.  And without a doubt, His credit is good in the bank of heaven.

 

The Bible says, “But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God — and righteousness and sanctification and redemption” (1 Corinthians 1:30).   Christ has become our righteousness.  And the effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man or woman avails much.

 

James then cites the example of a greatly admired righteous man: “Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months.   And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit” (verse 17–18).

 

When we think of Elijah, we often remember his outrunning chariots, raising the dead, calling fire down from heaven, and stopping the rain with his prayers.  He seemed almost superhuman.  What we forget is that after his great contest with the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel, he ran when he heard that Queen Jezebel was so outraged that she wanted him killed.

 

He was a man just like us, with the same vulnerability.  So if Elijah could still muster up the faith to believe God for great things, surely we can do the same.

For more relevant and biblical teaching from Pastor Greg Laurie, go to www.harvest.org.

Copyright © 2006 by Harvest Ministries. All rights reserved.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Bible text from the New King James Version is not to be reproduced in copies or otherwise by any means except as permitted in writing by Thomas Nelson, Inc., Attn: Bible Rights and Permissions, P.O. Box 141000, Nashville, TN 37214-1000.

 



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