“The prayer of a righteous person is very powerful in its effect.” James 5:16b CSB
This month, we’re focusing on learning how to pray Scripture. Don’t panic, I’m going to help you. We’re all going to do this together. Starting tomorrow, for the next 30 days there will be a different Scripture you can pray over your life, over the lives of family and friends, over anyone or anything. Praying Scripture is powerful for a couple of reasons. First off, it’s God’s word, His promises to us. We’re just reminding Him of what He already said. More than that, we’re reminding ourselves of what God has already said to us. We’re trusting His word that it is true. That He means what He says. The more we actively engage with God’s word, the more it will transform our lives, the more it will transform our hearts.
Here are the specific topics we’re going to attack this month. They are the ones I think all of us deal with in some way: Unbelief, Strongholds, Pride, Fear, Idolatry, Deception. Those are some interesting topics to ponder aren’t they? I look at each one of those and have no problem admitting, I struggle with them all.
Recently, we did a poll in the group about what people would like to know about prayer. In addition, I’ve been polling people randomly when I’m with them. There seems to be an overall consensus of what most people struggle with when it comes to prayer. Focus, Duration, Content, Consistency are all common struggles. How to know if prayers are answered is another struggle. Originally we had talked about doing a 40 day prayer challenge. But I don’t think I’m ready to write that yet. Instead we decided to stay with our “different theme” a month strategy.
As I wrestled with God over what He wanted me to do, it finally came down to just doing it. My hope and prayer is I can help you find answers to your questions as we actively practice a prayer routine together. There will be a daily prayer page for your journal you’ll be able to download and use at home. We’ll be posting an evening prayer as well, to help with consistency. We’ll continue our “Pray for Who Wednesday’s.” We’ll let God do the transforming along the way.
Join me on our journey to growing deeper in our prayer life with this Scriptural prayer:
“Lord, Your word says the prayer of a righteous person is powerful in its effect (James 5:16 NIV). I have been made righteous through Jesus, let my prayers be powerful in their effect. As we begin this journey of prayer together, let it draw us closer to You. Let us find a new level of intimacy through prayer we’ve never experienced before. Help us see the effect of the prayers we pray. In Jesus Powerful Name I pray. Amen”
