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So confess your sins to one another and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great effectiveness. (James 5:16 NET).
How do you get to be called “righteous” enough for prayer to be so effective? You move yourself from where you are to where righteousness stands waiting. In the process, you will experience things; you will shed things that can’t go with you. You will cross that Valley of the Shadow of Death — many times. More of your fleshly nature must die, be nailed to the Cross.
It’s not that you will call yourself righteous. Righteous people would never do that. Rather, you’ll realize you feel comfortable in God’s Presence. In His Presence are many others, and you must accept whomever He accepts. You’ll long for it whenever the cares of this world hinder you.
Last night someone contacted me for prayer. He was feeling isolated, and it was a lie. All I needed was an excuse. I rose to my feet and walked into some of the empty rooms in my residence, praying with at least one hand held up to God. I called on the Father to fill the man’s personal space with peace, to station angels there to guard him and roust the spirits of doubt and fear.
My wife, knowing what was happening, tried to minimize distractions for me. We are a team, and she knows the blessings of supporting my ministry. When I pray peace for someone else, it always invades our home, as well. For this reason, I pray for her as part of my prayers for the family of faith.
The image of standing strong alone is a lie from Hell. Righteous people hang out with other righteous people. That’s part of the definition, part of killing off the carnal nature.
Get to know the community, folks. Get acquainted with the other members, even if you don’t communicate directly. Get a feel for them so you can regard them as real people. These are saints who will pray for you when you need it, so you need to pray for them. This is real stuff; it’s not mumbo-jumbo. I’ve seen enough genuine miracles with my own eyes, so I’m not just putting on a show.
James, Jesus’ younger brother, said it best: This is your family. You can’t hide warts from the folks who sleep under the same roof. Take for granted that every one of us needs some help with the flesh. I know I do. The only thing that keeps me on track is the assurance that I’m not alone.
I’m not encouraging you to join the forum just because of stats. Nobody cares about that. The point is that you become part of the family. How many Covenant people do you know? If you have a community near you physically, then you don’t need the forum so much. But most of you are more isolated than I am, and it’s just my wife and I here where I live.
Stop hiding out, lurking in the background. A part of the definition of “following Christ” is fellowship with people of like faith. You are holding out on the Lord.
Think your new website home is nice. “The image of standing strong alone is a lie from Hell. Righteous people hang out with other righteous people.” is something I put in my sermon notes for the future. Thank you.