James was/is a great prayer teacher.
James 1: 5 reads, "If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking."
James 4:2-3, "You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous of what others have, but you can’t get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them. Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it. 3 And even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong—you want only what will give you pleasure.
James 5:16 says, "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. 17 Elijah was as human as we are, and yet when he prayed earnestly that no rain would fall, none fell for three and a half years!"
From my experience, learning to pray best happens when you pray. You might make mistakes, you might learn the hard way, but you learn.
Be encouraged,
Becky
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Becky, you mentioned putting something on paper...to show where God was confirming things for you? Something like that?
ReplyDeleteCan you go over what you said, because my notes are sketchy.........thanks!
This morning I was praying for a friend of mine. Her son was to be on the witness stand for a trial against the man (DUI) who hit him last year while he was on his bicycle. I know the answer I got while reading the bible isn't exactly the same but it sure felt like an answer from God.
ReplyDelete2 Peter 2:9 So you see, the Lord knows how to rescue godly people from their "trials", even while keeping the wicked under punishment until the day of final judgment.
I texted the scripture to my friend and said God is in control. I thank God that my friends son is ok today. He had severe head injury and missed only a semester of college. God is our refuge and our shield and his word is our source of hope> Ps 119:114 Prayer is powerful.
Over the years I have noted that James talks about and teaches us prayer. This year James 4:1-2 caught my attention.
ReplyDelete"What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Don't they come from the evil desires at war with you? You want what you don't have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous of what others have, but you can't get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them. Yet you don't have what you want because you don't ask God for it." James 4:1-2
Our sin is selfishness! When we put "Me" before God, life will be difficult.
Over the years I have prayed for my prodigal child. When I get discouraged, I go back to my journals and I can see where God answered prayers. I also can see when I stopped praying diligently and how her life went in the opposite direction. I believe God hears and answers prayers. It isn’t my prayers but God who works in the lives of people. But I believe we are commanded to cry out to our Lord and he hears. I am excited to take the new course Becky is offering on prayer this upcoming year. Prayer and especially intercessory prayer is something I feel I can never learn enough.
7/7
Have a blessed week!