The Power of A Righteous Person's Prayer
Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied: ...
"Submit to God and be at peace with Him;
In this way prosperity will come to you.
Accept instructions from His mouth
And lay up His words in your heart.
If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored:
If you remove wickedness far from your tent
And assign your nuggets to the dust,
Your gold of Ophir to the rocks in the ravines,
Then the Almighty will be your gold, the choicest silver for you.
Surely then you will find delight in the Almighty
And will lift up your face to God.
You will pray to Him, and He will hear you,
And you will fulfill your vows.
What you decide on will be done,
And light will shine on your ways.
When people are brought low and you say, 'Lift them up!'
Then He will save the downcast.
He will deliver even one who is not innocent,
Who will be delivered through the cleanness of your hands."
Job 22:21-30 (NIV)
"Submit to God and be at peace with Him;
In this way prosperity will come to you.
Accept instructions from His mouth
And lay up His words in your heart.
If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored:
If you remove wickedness far from your tent
And assign your nuggets to the dust,
Your gold of Ophir to the rocks in the ravines,
Then the Almighty will be your gold, the choicest silver for you.
Surely then you will find delight in the Almighty
And will lift up your face to God.
You will pray to Him, and He will hear you,
And you will fulfill your vows.
What you decide on will be done,
And light will shine on your ways.
When people are brought low and you say, 'Lift them up!'
Then He will save the downcast.
He will deliver even one who is not innocent,
Who will be delivered through the cleanness of your hands."
Job 22:21-30 (NIV)
Effective prayers begin from a position of righteousness. Scripture tells us that the prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective (James 5:16).
Eliphaz, Job's friend, is reminding us of that truth. He reminds us of the need to submit to God, meditate upon His word in our hearts, return to Him in repentance, remove wickedness from our lives, delight in Him as our most precious possession, and then lift up our voices in prayer.
Such a foundation of repentance, humility, and submission to God will open the door for our prayers to be heard.
The results of prayers offered in righteousness are phenomenal:
First, the light of God will shine on our ways. Our lives will be completely lit up by the presence of God so that we will not stumble in the journey of life because we delight ourselves in God.
Second: What we decide on or declare, will be done. Nothing we ask of God out of a righteous heart in accordance with His will, will be denied by Him! We will succeed in whatever we put our hands to. Our prayers will be so powerful that even very difficult declarations we make will be answered. When people are downcast or in trouble, God will come to their aid and help them because of our prayers.
Even people who are not innocent will find grace and be delivered from their difficult situations because our hands are clean before God! There is power in righteousness.
Eliphaz, Job's friend, is reminding us of that truth. He reminds us of the need to submit to God, meditate upon His word in our hearts, return to Him in repentance, remove wickedness from our lives, delight in Him as our most precious possession, and then lift up our voices in prayer.
Such a foundation of repentance, humility, and submission to God will open the door for our prayers to be heard.
The results of prayers offered in righteousness are phenomenal:
First, the light of God will shine on our ways. Our lives will be completely lit up by the presence of God so that we will not stumble in the journey of life because we delight ourselves in God.
Second: What we decide on or declare, will be done. Nothing we ask of God out of a righteous heart in accordance with His will, will be denied by Him! We will succeed in whatever we put our hands to. Our prayers will be so powerful that even very difficult declarations we make will be answered. When people are downcast or in trouble, God will come to their aid and help them because of our prayers.
Even people who are not innocent will find grace and be delivered from their difficult situations because our hands are clean before God! There is power in righteousness.
Prayer: Father, I repent of any unrighteousness that might be buried in my heart. I ask that you help me live righteously so that my prayers will carry weight before your throne as I intercede for others in their difficult plight. Amen.