“I never remember, in all my Christian course, a period now (in March, 1895) of sixty-nine years and four months, that I ever SINCERELY and PATIENTLY sought to know the will of God by the teaching of the Holy Ghost, through the instrumentality of the Word of God, but I have been ALWAYS directed rightly. But if honesty of heart and uprightness before God were lacking, or if I did not patiently wait upon God for instruction, or if I preferred the counsel of my fellow men to the declarations of Word of the living God, I made great mistakes.” — George Müller, from his narratives on Answers to Prayer
~ James 5:16-18
Beloved, sometimes love speaks strong truth. Buckle-up.
Rather, the question is do we somehow still believe we can hold on to that one last thing or two? Bluntly friends, if yes, we are living a false existence under the banner of that which is true. Our prayers are going to bounce off the outer walls of the throne room like a ping-pong ball off the side of an aircraft carrier. Sorry.
Oh, His Love TRULY covers a multitude of sins. Surely, if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us (1 John 1:8). But make no mistake beloved, we can take ourselves off the front-lines of prayer, sacrificial love and proclamation of the Gospel by choosing to live life our own way.
Yeah, we’ll keep trying… But we’ll know the truth, it will be totally ineffective. Smoke and mirrors.
His righteousness is available to us.
And by Grace, He pours it out in portions immeasurable. Oh beloved, He really does. How do i know? HE has done this in my life. As i have given him everything (yeah, there is that word again!), i have begun to experience actual ongoing victory over sin. He gives us the power and also begins to shift the profile of our desires to make them more like His own.
Day-by-day, we see that His mercies are indeed new every day, and that His Grace IS sufficient. Please know that this writer knows about that which he writes. He is living in a culture and among situations that allow him almost instant access to gratify his desires. But G_d (oh-how-i-love-that-phrase!!!) literally, physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually protects him from falling. This writer has only to LET HIM DO IT.
And let’s be honest… When we step out on our own, in our own strength, failure is just around the corner. In Christ, though, true victory is inevitable. G_d’s righteousness prevails. Always.
Bluntly: prayer works.
Have no doubt about this, our prayers are the sacred incense that pervades the environment of the very near presence of G_d. He does not just hear our prayers, He inhales them and makes them part of Himself. Their smoke is ever more real than the fiery exhaust of a star.
Prayer is a believer’s vital breath. It is life breathed back to the One who has breathed life into us. It is a stunningly beautiful loop within the overlapping circles of our relationship with Him.
–Hannah Hurnard (1905–1990)
