In Touch - Aug. 22, 2007
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- 2007 Aug 22
In Touch Daily Devotional
by Dr. Charles Stanley
August 22, 2007 – Praying in a Crisis – James 5:16-18
When life is moving along smoothly, we find it easy to thank God for answered prayer. But a crisis can bring doubt, especially if the Lord isn’t responding as quickly as we might like. James 5:16 should give us hope. It says, “The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.” The Lord hears and will respond to the petitions of the righteous.
The Greek word for “accomplish” is the one from which we derive our English word energy. James says that in response to the effective prayer of a believer, God directs His supernatural energy toward the current crisis. But He can’t be manipulated into unleashing His power. There are no prayer formulas or perfect words that cause Him to react.
The Lord responds to faith so the godly believer will see Him intervene. All born-again Christians are clothed in righteousness and positioned as God’s children. But not all live with a clear conscience. Psalm 66:18 states, “If I regard wickedness in my heart, the Lord will not hear.” In other words, if we refuse to repent of disobedience, He won’t respond to our prayer. This is why crisis situations are frequently times of personal revival. We must repent of all known sin before we can expect God to act.
God wants to intervene on our behalf. His love for us demands that He comfort, strengthen, and help us when we’re troubled. We clear the way for Him to respond when we keep a clear conscience.
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