“For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead” (James 2:26 NASB).

Years ago I met a young woman in a Bible study whose family was struggling financially. Her husband was in prison and she had four young sons at home. They were crammed into a very small little house, but were very content and happy. Every day she prayed a simple prayer for God to provide for their needs. She never made a big deal out of the fact that they had very little and were barely getting by on her meager paying job.

Another friend and I began regularly praying for and with “Beth” after Bible study each week. She was so grateful for our prayers, and would let us know how we could be praying for her. It wasn’t long before God began to speak to my heart that I needed to become the answer to the prayers I was praying for her financial situation. I began to argue with God, for I was a fairly new believer and hadn’t yet learned why this principle was vital to my spiritual growth and health. God began to show me that if He was calling me to be the person to meet Beth’s need and I did not, the separation of my faith from my works would get me what the Message version of James 2:26 calls “a corpse”: “The very moment you separate body and spirit, you end up with a corpse. Separate faith and works and you get the same thing: a corpse.” When there is “a seamless unity of believing and doing” we are exercising faith as God intends.

My friend Nancy shared that she had been sensing a nudge from God as well. So, the two of us decided God wanted to use us, and hatched a plan of blessing for Beth’s family. It began by leaving an anonymous envelope with some money in it on the front seat of her car shortly before she would be heading to work after getting her boys off to school. That night at Bible study, Beth was praising God and thanking Him that the exact amount she had needed for groceries that day was in that envelope. She was astonished at how anyone would have known her need but God, the One she had brought her need to. Nancy and I were just as amazed at how God had given us just the right amount to meet her needs, and so thrilled that He had used us to meet this need. This ignited our spirits, and we wanted to do more!

It was close to Christmas and Beth was going to visit her husband, who was due to be released from prison in just a few short weeks. Nancy and I offered to watch the boys that day for her so she didn’t need to hire a babysitter. After she left, we took the boys to get a Christmas tree, as Beth had sadly told them there wouldn’t be a tree this year. The boys were so excited to get it home and set up in the living room. Next, we made ornaments with paper, markers and glue. We cut out snowflakes and decorated everywhere (I was reminded of this after watching the movie Elf years later). Nancy and I also took them to purchase some simple gifts for their parents. Their eyes were shining as they wrapped the gifts. We prayed with them several times that day, asking God to show us all what He wanted us to do to make Christmas one of the best they had ever celebrated. They all knew the Christmas story well, and were excited to rejoice in the birth of Jesus as a family.

Beth’s children were breathless with excitement waiting for their mother to come home later that night. When she did, she brought a surprise. The children’s father had been released early and would be with them for Christmas after all! What a joyous reunion this family had when their daddy walked in the door…and what fun when they were able to show their parents the lovely tree they had decorated themselves. Nancy and I quietly slipped out and had a time of worshiping God and thanking Him for letting us be the answer to the prayers we had prayed.

Over the years, it has given me and my family much joy to continue to listen to God’s urging to “be the answer,” trusting Him to show us how to meet the needs of those for whom we pray. It isn’t always a financial situation. Sometimes it is simple things such as bringing a meal that’s needed, or offering words of encouragement…or going to the hospital to pray through a surgery. It was an important lesson to learn that praying for others is vital and important; however, if I don’t pair this with listening and responding to the voice of the Father urging me to become the answer to the prayers I pray, I am only going half way in my faith that He will answer. When the burden is placed upon me to pray, He often will also give me a burden to respond. What a privilege that God chooses to work through His people to be the answer to their own prayers. When we respond in obedience, we learn what it truly means to be part of the body of Christ Jesus…and that is life-changing and culture-transforming!

God’s people should be those who ask for God’s kingdom to come in the midst of their life together as the corporate body of Jesus Christ. One caution – we should find our identities within the purposes of God alone – not in our work or our “causes.” Most of all, may we never think we can be the answer without God.

“…prayer and action can go together; in fact they must. Otherwise we have little more than a bunch of inactive believers or worn-out activists, and neither do much good for the world.” –Shane Claiborne and Jonathan Wilson-Hargrove: Becoming the Answer to our Prayers: Prayer for Ordinary Radicals

As our nation continues its moral spiral downward, a scripture that is increasingly referred to is Psalm 11:3:  “When the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteous do?” It is certainly a contemporary question. The problem comes when we try to supply our own answer to this important question. The answers can come fast and furious: vote this way, protest this action, write your congress person, boycott that group…and much more. All of those answers actually might be valid in small ways. The difficulty is that they are all insufficient and fail to address the answer found in scripture.

When we pick one verse, we often do so at the expense of the verses around it. That’s especially true in this case. The answer to the compelling question, “What can the righteous do?” is found in verse 4. “The Lord is in his holy temple; The Lord is on his heavenly throne. He observes everyone on earth; his eyes examine them.” The answer to the question is simple – Look up!  God is still in charge.

When seismic changes are taking place in culture, it looks as though everything is falling apart. Our nature is to jump in and try to fix it, or to retreat in despair and discouragement. The command of God’s Word though, is to look to The Lord. It’s time to pray. It’s time to draw near and realize that ultimately God is in charge and nothing is happening of which he is unaware. It doesn’t mean that we might not need other action in addition to prayer.  But after we have prayed, our actions will not be acts of desperation but that which emerges from the leadership of the Holy Spirit. God is still on His throne. And we are those who come boldly into His throne room to lay before him our requests for His will to be poured out on earth as it is in heaven. What can the righteous do? We can pray!

“Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day’s walk from the city. When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers” (Acts 1:12-14).

Following Jesus’ ascension into heaven, the apostles obediently returned to their place of prayer in the upper room. They were joined by other men and women who had agreed they were “in this for good, completely together in prayer” (Acts 1:14 MSG). They joined together constantly in prayer as they awaited the promised Holy Spirit. As they waited, they listened. God prompted Peter to speak about the Scripture that spoke of the need to replace the position that Judas Iscariot had thrown away in favor of his own will, so Mathias was added as the twelfth apostle.

I wonder how these early believers felt as they awaited the promised Holy Spirit. Did they wonder what it would feel like or be like to have this “power” Jesus spoke to them about? Were they excited to receive such a gift, or apprehensive about what it would mean for them individually and collectively? Would they have spent time talking about it together over meals, speculating about their commission to be witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and to the ends of the earth? I wonder also, did they determine to be willing to lay aside their own ideas, plans and purposes in favor of the kingdom purposes Jesus had been teaching them about? Did they pray, “Not my will/our will but Yours be done?” Did they express private concerns about being persecuted or even killed, knowing that the enemies of Jesus would most certainly oppose them? Did they lay hands upon one another and pray for strength, willingness, obedience and courage? Were they already making plans or simply sitting at the feet of Jesus, awaiting the Spirit’s direction as Jesus told them to do? We do know that when the Spirit came, these waiting saints were prepared and ready! Within a very few weeks it was said that they had “turned the world upside down” for Jesus Christ.

It would have been amazing to be in that upper room at this extraordinary moment in history. Yet, in a sense, we can place ourselves there – if we are willing. What if every church or group of believers would set themselves into this very scenario within this passage of God’s word?  We, of course, already have the gift of the Holy Spirit. We don’t have to wait for it if we have made Jesus Lord and Savior. But for many of us, our obedience to the commission of Jesus ends there. We have all of the power we will ever need to go into our modern day Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and even to the ends of the earth. Yet, this power lies dormant and unused within so many of us who have chosen only to acknowledge but not act upon the call of Christ to be His witnesses.

Perhaps what is needed is to recapture the essence of the upper room where we can join together constantly in prayer as the early Christians did. It would be a place where the presence of God is palpable…a place of laying down our will in favor of the will of God, and a place of listening and of discernment. It would be a holy space where Scripture teaches us and we obey…a place of empowerment, of physical and spiritual healing… a place of building relationships, of serving one another…a place of encouragement and accountability…a place of true discipleship and of making disciples. It would be a launching pad for going into Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and to the ends of the earth. It would be…the Church.

(c) Harvest Prayer Ministries

“Converting our unceasing thinking into unceasing prayer moves us from a self-centered monologue to a God-centered dialogue.” – Henri Nouwen

Reading Nouwen’s quote this week, I paused to consider once again what has been changing about my everyday life as it is gradually being transformed into an unceasing dialogue with God. For many years, having such discourse with God was an elusive reality for me.

When I became a follower of Jesus, I was taught that everyone should carve out time every morning for Bible study, worship and prayer. I still believe this is true, for it gives my days a sense of balance and focuses me upon God’s purposes for my day rather than my own. Yet, I would always find a drifting occurring as the day traveled along. Rather than trusting God as my friend, confidante, guide, wisdom and rock in the midst of every activity, conversation and relationship, I began to marginalize His participation through forgetfulness and neglect. Life became about what I was doing, where I was going and who I was connecting with.  Unless His help was clearly needed, I was pretty self-sufficient and, as Nouwen states, “self-centered.”

Is it possible to develop a spiritual strategy to move one’s unceasing thinking towards unceasing prayer? I believe so! Spiritual practices such as silence and listening prayer are crucial in developing the discipline of continual awareness of and conversation with God. Here are some powerful ways, based upon Scripture, to help us transition from unceasing thought to unceasing prayer:

Remember that God knows all of our thoughts: In Psalm 139:2 the Psalmist says, “You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar.” There is no thought that escapes the notice of the Father. Our attentiveness to this fact can stop us from purposeless wandering of mind, or from focusing upon our own needs and agendas incessantly. I am always more observant of my thoughts when I cultivate an awareness that God is paying attention to them. I am more careful to consider what He thinks of my opinions, ideas and random notions and more inclined to speak to Him about them.
Ask God to search your thoughts: If God knows all of our thoughts we should prayerfully invite Him to examine our thought lives. Our awareness of His presence in our thoughts can lead to conversation with God about what is contained in them. A good prayer for this is found in Psalm 139:23: “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.”  Spend time listening to what He may have to say about what you are thinking, and ask Him to show you how to change, alter, or act upon things as He brings conviction, sheds light and asks for obedience.
Take every thought captive: 2 Corinthians 10:5 says, “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and…we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” If we pay attention to every thought, and whether or not it is Christlike, natural conversation with God will happen. Perhaps asking questions of God such as, “Father, how can I think differently about this situation?” will help us with the transformation of our minds (Romans 12:2).
Fix your thoughts on Jesus: In Hebrews 3:1 we read, Therefore, holy brothers and sisters, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, whom we acknowledge as our apostle and high priest.” If we have taken our thoughts captive, we can begin to fix our thoughts upon the things that matter to Jesus.
We have the mind of Christ:  Through the power of the Holy Spirit, we, as believers in Christ, are able to align our thoughts with Jesus’ thoughts.  “For who has known or understood the mind (the counsels and purposes) of the Lord so as to guide and instruct Him and give Him knowledge? But we have the mind of Christ (the Messiah) and do hold the thoughts (feelings and purposes) of His heart” (1 Corinthians 2:16, Amplified).  Because we have the mind of Christ Jesus, and because He dwells within us, we can converse continually with Him about the feelings and purposes of His heart. Desiring to see His plans for us, for others and for His world come to fruition, we will be more likely to press into ceaseless conversation to that end.

I know these are not easy steps, and that it will take some time and discipline to have an unceasing dialogue with God; however, His word gives us what we need to move in that direction.  Let’s pray for one another to recognize that God knows our thoughts, to invite Him to search those thoughts, and to begin to take every thought captive by training our focus upon Jesus. Then, in the knowledge of the truth that through the power of the Holy Spirit we have the mind of Christ, our prayer lives will see great transformation.

James gives us some very important teaching on prayer in James 5:13-18: 

 ^“Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.

Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.”

We are told that whatever we are facing…good or bad, we should pray. Good advice. The problem in the text is that the example given of a man of prayer is that of Elijah. However, Elijah, in our eyes, seems to be this amazing man of prayer.  How can we be like him?

James, inspired by God, says Elijah was a human being, just like us. He was simply a normal person with no special dispensation from God.

So let’s look at a summary of the obedience of Elijah’s prayer life:

•  I Kings 17:1: Rain did not fall in Israel for several years – “Now Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, ‘As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word.’”
• I Kings 17:7-16: A widow and her son did not starve – “For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the Lord spoken by Elijah” (v. 16).
• I Kings 17:17-24: The widow’s son was raised from the dead – “The Lord heard Elijah’s cry, and the boy’s life returned to him, and he lived” (v. 22).
• I Kings 18:16-40: Elijah called on the Lord and was victorious over the prophets of Baal on Mt Carmel – “Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord. The god who answers by fire – he is God” (v. 24).
• I Kings 18:41-46: Rain falls from heaven – “And Elijah said to Ahab, ‘Go, eat and drink, for there is the sound of a heavy rain’” (v. 41).

Elijah, because of his obedience, had an amazing response to his prayers. And Scripture says that Elijah was a person just like us? How can this be?

We can see the answer to this question when suddenly everything changes for Elijah in I Kings 19:

• He became fearful: “Elijah was afraid and ran for his life” (v. 3).
• He was depressed and discouraged: “…he came to a broom tree, sat down under it and prayed that he might die” (v. 4)
• Elijah, mistaken about what was going on, was filled with self-pity: “I am the only one left and now they are trying to kill me too” (v. 14).

We can all tend to be like this side of Elijah from time to time – fearful, wanting suffering to end, mistaken about what is happening, and filled with self-pity. We can do that!

Here’s my point. Elijah was a flawed man. He had great successes and some failures too. In spite of some amazing answers to prayer, his life was not easy. The purpose of prayer is not to make life easy.

As Elijah learned, when we commit to obeying God and serving Him in prayer, we become an integral part of the purposes of God on planet earth.  Elijah got in on some really good stuff, because he prayed.  And we can too!  As a matter of fact, I will tell you bluntly that God has made us for this.

To pray like Elijah means:

1.    Praying prayers that are focused on God’s purposes.

2.    Praying prayers that are filled with faith.

3.    Praying prayers that involve acts of obedience.

Our job is to pray as Elijah did…with focus, faith, and obedience so that God will receive glory. The final result always rests in God’s capable hands.