James 5:13-18
Introduction
If someone puts a million dollars in your physical bank account, you are a guaranteed millionaire. However, if you don’t know how to write a check or keep up with your bank card, that which is guaranteed cannot be enjoyed. Too many of us have bank accounts full of God’s blessings but forget to sign our checks or swipe our cards to draw from His spiritual reservoir. We often operate as if we do not understand how to draw on the benefits God offers in order to live a victorious Christian life.
Many times, believers take for granted the amazing opportunity we are afforded to pray daily. We manipulate the principle, forget about the purpose, and misrepresent the power of prayer. Prayer is God’s designated point of contact calling forth in history what God has determined in eternity. It is the mechanism in which He has chosen for us to communicate with Him so that we can participate with Him as He fulfills His conditional will on earth. When we access the invisible realm through prayer, we do it to unlock the door to physical, relational and/or spiritual healing.
Accessing the power of the spiritual realm is tied to the right person praying with the proper perspective and the right passion. When you petition the Lord for his favor, your heart posture must be right, your motives need to be pure and you must understand that prayer is not just an earthly exercise. Prayer illustrates your trust that God from heaven will actually do something about what concerns you on earth.
Getting Started
- Have you ever gone to draw on your bank account with a check or a debit card and nothing was there? When was the last time that happened?
- How do you ensure that your bank account is prepared for withdrawal? What regular rhythms assist you in tracking your bank balances?
Let’s Get Personal
- Tell about a time you experienced the power of prayer in your life.
- What is your greatest challenge when it comes to prayer?
Take the Next Step
- In what areas of your life do you need to be prayerful so that the spiritual realm can be accessed to intervene on your behalf?
- What are you doing to ensure you are the right person with the right passion and perspective to call forth heaven to intervene on earth?
- Want to go deeper? Take time to look at the following passages: Isaiah 65:24; 1 Thessalonians 5:17; Deuteronomy 11:13-17; 1 Kings 17:1; 1 Kings 18:1; 1 Kings 18:36-46; 2 Corinthians 12:7-10; Hebrews 4:14-16; Ephesians 3:13-21; Matthew 6:5-13; Matthew 7:7-11; 2 Kings 20:1-11; Luke 18:1-8; Jeremiah 33:3
Renew Your Mind
“Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know.”
Jeremiah 33:3
