Works/Fruit?

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:il: I love your posts here Island Rose

All Praise The Ancient Of Days

[tsth]

Dear IR,

I thought you would appreciate the Henry Blackaby devotion for today:

The effective, fervent prayer

of a righteous man avails much.

James 5:16b

God promises all believers that if we live righteously and pray fervently, our prayers will be effective and produce significant results. How do we treat a promise like this? We might argue, "But I do pray, and nothing happens!" Our problem is that we do not hold ourselves accountable to the Scripture. God's Word says that prayer ought to accomplish much. If our prayer life is not accomplishing much, what should we do? If we are praying but seeing no results, should we conclude that this promise is untrue? Should we excuse this Scripture as impractical and unrealistic? Or should we examine ourselves to see if we meet its conditions?

James says that fervent prayer avails much. Could it be that we are not as fervent in our praying as we should be? Fervent prayer means we do not quit easily. Fervent prayer means we purposefully spend sufficient time in intercession. Fervent prayer means we cry out to the Father, sometimes in tears, with our heart and soul. Fervent prayer comes as the Holy Spirit assists us in praying with groanings too deep for words (Rom. 8:26).

According to James, our righteousness will ensure effective prayer. God's standard of righteousness is different from ours, for He looks beyond our actions, even beyond our thoughts, directly to our hearts. How then should we hold ourselves accountable if our prayers are accomplishing little? If nothing happens when we pray, the problem is not with God. The problem is with us, for God's Word is absolutely reliable. If we adhere to what God requires, He will lead us to pray for things that align with His purposes, and God will answer our prayers in a mighty way.

In His Love,

Suzanne

[IslandRose]

Dear Suzanne,

That devotional really touched me where I live. It spoke to the exact thoughts I had this morning during my quiet time with the Lord.

I have never written my testimony in the testimony thread, because in some ways it is boring, yet when looked at in one way, it is a great testimony of God's grace. I was brought up in a Christian home, truly Christian where the Word of God was taught and lived. I accepted Christ at a young age, and even though I was young, I really understood my need for a saviour. I just didn't understand at that time that I was making the smartest decision in all my life.

I was never a rebellious kid. I have always tried to make my decisions in line with the Word. I married a great guy who treats me like I was God's gift to him (wish I could say I deserved it). I have 3 wonderful kids. My eldest daughter married a young preacher in October, my son is in a Christian College, and my younger daughter is looking into Christian colleges for the spring semester.

So, see, I have done everything right. BUT, where God has to continually teach me is WHY I do things. Is it just habit ? Is it a ritual to go to church, read my Bible, prepare lessons. My righteouness must go beyond the outward deeds that I do. If I am not doing these things because "the love of Christ constrains" me, then it is just ME doing them, not Christ working through me. It is easy to get smug. Paul said "I die daily." I find I sometime have to die hourly, to put sinful attitudes back on the cross and seek His face.

I have the desire to be righteous in His sight. To be one whose prayers can be honored by a HOLY God. The biggest item on my prayer list right now is revival. Revival in my heart, in my church, and in the church in general.

Your Thread has renewed that desire in my heart. I had been feeling the urging, a kind of tugging at my heart for a while now. The Holy Spirit used you to open my eyes to what he has been trying to show me. Thank you for allowing yourself to be used to help me, too.

In His Love, IR :il:

[tsth]

Oh IR,

You touched my heart deeply.........I am crying.

You were used as well sister.

In His Love,

Suzanne

[Catsmeow]

Amen, Suzanne! IR...you go girl! I've also been feeling the need to be fervent in prayer and that's sometimes a weakness for me...

I like to be "doing" instead of praying...In truth, I need both. Bless you, Sis.

[tsth]

Good Morning All,

I wanted to post this devotion as it is so appropriate for this thread and 2 others that I can think of. Island Rose, after I read your response on the "What are you Wearing" thread, I thought I would just take a look and see what the devotion was for this morning, (I wouldn't have read it till later).

P.S. Cats, I'm tempted to put it under Happy's thread too, about When Does God Not Hear Us.

Here it is:

But know that the Lord has set apart for Himself

him who is godly;

The Lord will hear when I call to Him.

Psalm 4:3

No one is more precious in the Lord's sight than a godly person. God is pleased whenever He finds someone who strives to live a righteous life and bring glory to Him. God sets such people apart in a special place in His heart. They are always kept before Him, and He stands ready to respond to their faintest cries for help.

Sin separates us from God, causing Him to close His ears to our praying. It is futile for us to pray when we are knowingly practicing sin. But the opposite is also true. God chooses to honor us by listening to our every cry when we are living a godly life. An abiding security comes with living a blameless life. The righteous person never has to wonder whether God has listened to his prayer (1 John 5:14-15). The godly person has confidence that God has indeed heard her prayer and will immediately respond in all of His power.

It is exhilarating to be set apart by God, knowing that God observes your consecrated life and is pleased with what He sees. What a tremendous privilege to know that your life holds a special place in God's heart! The world may not accord any special status to you, but you will know that you are cherished by God. The world continues to find new ways to honor people, but even the world's most extravagant accolades are pitiful compared to the unfathomable blessing of holding a special place in the heart of God!

In His Love,

Suzanne

[traveller]

oooooohhhhh - -sis!!! Nice Nice Nice!! Thank you for posting that!

[tsth]

We can still pray!

BUMP

In His Love,

Suzanne

[IslandRose]

Ahhh, Suzanne! How often the Lord has used you to prod me along.

I have been off the boards for two weeks visiting with my little grandson and getting my two youngest situated in college. As I have been looking ahead, I have been making my plans to fill the new time I have now since I am no longer homeschooling. My plans included time for projects I enjoy, crafts and such, reading I have been putting aside, more time visiting the elderly and home-bound of our congregation, more time planning activities for the youth. But then I started hearing a still small voice in my heart......what about me? Where is the "more time spent with the Lord" in all your plans?

You see, I have so much Martha in me, I have a tendency to "DO" rather than to "BE STILL."

Yes, I still have a burden to see revival. I just need to always remember that revival comes to willing hearts that are open to His leading. Nothing "I do" in my own strength will bring it on. I need to pray, trust and obey so that he can use me as a tool.

So once again, I commit myself to pray. To let my "works" be the result of the Fruit of His spirit working through me. To try to do less in my own strength and to let Him work through me.

[tsth]

Dear IslandRose,

Your humble heart is an encouragement to me. I truly believe that NOW we can be used by the Master abundantly in the days to come. I REALLY believe that it will be in the same magnitude as any of the heroes in the Bible stories. Because their use was dependant upon their faith and trust. It still works the same way for us! Praise God!

In His Love,

Suzanne