Greetings,
If we consider prayer a chore rather than a gift, we will spend more time complaining and less time being grateful. Prayer is not a powerless tool or a meaningless exercise in self-centering meditation. It is the most intimate practice that a Christ follower can engage in. It is entering the most Holy place and freely pouring out your heart in gratitude and love, or passionate pain and anger to the only one that knows you completely and still loves you anyway.
It is a difficult thing to estimate how any of us are doing in our prayer lives. As humans, we are notoriously poor self-examiners. Often we are either too hard on ourselves or we give ourselves a lot more credit than we honestly deserve. How dependent are you on the Lord? Are you trusting in the Lord with all your heart or are you leaning on your own understanding? It would be nice to be able to have a gauge to know how we are doing.
I read an article about how a group of African converts to Christianity were earnest and regular in private devotions. Each one reportedly had a separate spot in the thicket where he would pour out his heart to God. Over time the paths to these places became well worn. As a result, if one of these believers began to neglect prayer, it was soon apparent to the others. They would kindly remind the negligent one, "Brother, the grass grows on your path."
Maybe you need someone informing you that there is grass growing on your path. This is where proper accountability and loving, intimate Christian relationships thrive. James 5:16 says, "Therefore, confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective."
I love this passage because there is so much depth of relationship and intimacy. Confession of our sin to each other requires great humility, friendship, trust, transparency and willingness to share our burdens.
Praying for each other shows that there is a dependence, not on our ability to solve the sin issue, but a reliance on the Lord to handle the sin in us. Next there is a hopeful expectation or assurance that praying for each other will bring about overcoming and healing in this sin area because of our humility, transparency and dependence on the Lord.
The passage ends by declaring that the prayer of a righteous person is both powerful and effective. It is the person that understands that our righteousness comes from the Lord and not from us that has powerful and effective prayers.
The beauty of this demonstration of friendship and accountability is that with this level of intimacy, we can tell when the grass is growing on each other's paths.
May the grass never grow on your path!
Love ya,
Chris
I read an article about how a group of African converts to Christianity were earnest and regular in private devotions. Each one reportedly had a separate spot in the thicket where he would pour out his heart to God. Over time the paths to these places became well worn. As a result, if one of these believers began to neglect prayer, it was soon apparent to the others. They would kindly remind the negligent one, "Brother, the grass grows on your path."
Maybe you need someone informing you that there is grass growing on your path. This is where proper accountability and loving, intimate Christian relationships thrive. James 5:16 says, "Therefore, confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective."
I love this passage because there is so much depth of relationship and intimacy. Confession of our sin to each other requires great humility, friendship, trust, transparency and willingness to share our burdens.
Praying for each other shows that there is a dependence, not on our ability to solve the sin issue, but a reliance on the Lord to handle the sin in us. Next there is a hopeful expectation or assurance that praying for each other will bring about overcoming and healing in this sin area because of our humility, transparency and dependence on the Lord.
The passage ends by declaring that the prayer of a righteous person is both powerful and effective. It is the person that understands that our righteousness comes from the Lord and not from us that has powerful and effective prayers.
The beauty of this demonstration of friendship and accountability is that with this level of intimacy, we can tell when the grass is growing on each other's paths.
May the grass never grow on your path!
Love ya,
Chris