Prayer of the Righteous
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Confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The insistent prayer of a righteous person is powerfully effective. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain, and it didn’t rain on the earth for three years and six months. He prayed again, and the sky gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.
James 5:16-18 (WEB)
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Long one today.
But a good one, with a powerful illustration.
Prayer is powerful.
That’s the lesson here.
A couple Sundays ago I heard my pastor talk about how he often gets similar bemoaning answers whenever he visits shut-ins:
“I’m sorry I can’t go to church, all I can do is sit here and pray.”
What?!
All you can do?
My friend, that’s probably the MOST significant thing you can do.
I don’t know why God has made the world this way, but He takes the prayers of His people into serious account. He makes sure that prayer is powerful.
In the case of these verses, powerful enough to change the weather for nearly four years.
I’m personally thankful for the prayer warriors I have in my life who have supported me for many years.
I don’t know how I’d make it without their support.
I’m aiming to pay that debt forward, training myself to become a prayer warrior for my own friends and family.
I’ve got a ways to go before I’m out of the “bootcamp” phase, but God is patient with me.
Anyway, I hope this encourages you this morning.
It’s certainly encouraging me.
— Ricky Ketchum
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