Scriptures

Psalms 66:16-20
Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what he hath done for my soul.
I cried unto him with my mouth, and he was extolled with my tongue.
If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:
But verily God hath heard me; he hath attended to the voice of my prayer.
Blessed be God, which hath not turned away my prayer, nor his mercy from me.

James 5:13-16
Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms.
Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:
And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.
Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

James 4:1-10
From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?
Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.
Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.
Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.
Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?
But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.
Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.
Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.
Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.

Psalms 32:1-11
(A Psalm of David, Maschil.) Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.
Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile.
When I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long.
For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me: my moisture is turned into the drought of summer. Selah.
I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah.
For this shall every one that is godly pray unto thee in a time when thou mayest be found: surely in the floods of great waters they shall not come nigh unto him.
Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble; thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance. Selah.
I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye.
Be ye not as the horse, or as the mule, which have no understanding: whose mouth must be held in with bit and bridle, lest they come near unto thee.
Many sorrows shall be to the wicked: but he that trusteth in the LORD, mercy shall compass him about.
Be glad in the LORD, and rejoice, ye righteous: and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart.

Matthew 5:43-48
Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?
And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?
Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

Devotional

PRAY WITH A PURE HEART

What does David say can block the effectiveness of our prayers? What do confession and prayer lead to according to James 5:16?

James, the brother of Jesus, gives a warning about the heart condition in relationship to prayer. James specifically addresses the motives of our prayers in James 4:3, and he spends the remainder of this passage further exhorting us about the heart and about our motives and desires. What does he say are the hindrances to power-filled prayer?

If these words touch a nerve, confess it to the Lord. Our Lord is compassionate, full of lovingkindness, full of mercy, and slow to anger. Allow the sharp edge of the Word to do its work so that you may be an effective prayer warrior!

Take time now in prayer. Seek the Lord and His mercy and forgiveness. Ask the Lord to search your heart and reveal any hidden sins so that you can be clean and pure in His sight and an effective vessel for Him. The effective prayers of a righteous man availeth much.

Pray and confess according to the pattern laid before you in Psalms 32.

If we look back at the Matthew passage there is something there I believe is essential to praying with a pure heart and praying as Jesus would want you to pray. It can’t be overlooked, particularly if we desire to be in the right place in our relationship with Christ and to walk in His steps. Verse 45 gives the reason we are to love and pray for our enemies.

We are to pray for our enemies, and not some sort of compulsory, obligatory prayer. Instead, pray for them as we would pray for our families and for ourselves, with a deep desire for their good. Take a moment to pray earnestly for the person that is the most challenging for you, that you might hold them near and dear in your heart. Pray the following for them:

Father, may Your perfect will be done in their lives. Have mercy upon them, Lord, and pour out your grace upon them, that they would walk in Your ways and glorify You and Your love.

My Own Thoughts

Well brothers and sisters, as the day winds down and the kiddos slip off to the deep depths of sleep, I praise the Lord for you and that He saw you safely back to my small corner of the web. May He guide and direct your steps throughout the remainder of your day. Remember, pray always! Jesus is your best friend if you allow Him to be. Until next time beloved, stay peculiar!