May 12 - Powerful and Effective

Today's Reading:
Isaiah 8:1-9:21
James 5:1-20
Psalm 138:1-8 
Click on Text Link to Read Online

Focus Verses:
James 5:16-18
16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. 17 Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. 18 Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.

Insight:
Just as we humans are agents of change as we interact with the world, God is ready, willing, and able to act within the world. He is involved and participating in the story of our lives. He hears our prayers, considers them, and answers them.

The Scriptures are filled with examples of God's active response to everyday people who called out to him for help. God is not impersonal, distant, or uninvolved with his creation. He is working to save, lead, guide, help, and provide.

Response and Action:
I will pray because I believe God is present, powerful, persuadable, and personal. I believe that God is engaged and interested in his creation. I believe that God cares about what is happening in the world and in my life. I will call out to God and ask him for help, guidance, relief, strength, deliverance, and provision. I will make prayer a priority in my life. I will cultivate a regular and thoughtful pattern for daily prayer.

O God, thank you for hearing our prayers. Thank you for your grace and provision in our lives. We call out to you, Holy Father, believing that yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.

Spiritual Formation Verses: 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
16 Be joyful always; 17 pray continually; 18 give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

Resources:
The Prayer God Longs For
by James Emery White