Last night I was listening to Dennis Miller on talk radio and he was interviewing a man named Jeff Allen. Jeff was an alcoholic who through accepting Christ has turned his life around and is now a Christian comedian. He said his turning point came when he beat his six month old son as he lay in the crib. His search took him seven years before someone showed him a Bible and that is how he found what he was searching for. Seven years--I kept thinking how many people the Lord had directed towards this man and for some reason or another they deferred. To search for meaning for seven years before you finally found it--this spoke to my heart.
He was telling Dennis that the two books of the Bible he could really identify with were Job and Ecclesiastics. Dennis said he didn't know anything about the Bible, so he didn't understand why those books were helpful to him. Wow--he didn't know anything about the Bible! I'm sitting there eating supper and I am being blown away by the realization that we take so much for granted as Christians. If you get a chance look Jeff Allen up on YouTube--he is very good.
I woke up this morning with a verse stuck in my head:
The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. James 5:16
righteous - doing what is right; morally right, fair & just;
fervent - having or showing great warmth of feeling; intensely devoted or earnest
Why was this verse the first thing that greeted me this morning? When I think of the word righteous I get a picture of Moses standing on the mountain with the ten commandments. I never thought to apply the word to myself; but I am righteous through Christ. I'm getting another picture of my nose high in the air--looking down on those around me--but no that is self-righteous--another term altogether.
Do I dare claim this promise that if my prayers are earnest in their intent; it will have an affect on those around me? I do have a lot on my heart and this verse reminds me that prayer is the key to all things.
One more verse (it is Sunday) that I read this morning:
Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place where He prayed. Mark 1:35
That is the model of an effective prayer life of a righteous (and perfect) Man.
Now because it is my rambling Sunday--my eye just caught this new fingernail polish called 60 seconds by Rimmel. I highly recommend it; it really does dry in 60 seconds--1 minute!
2 comments:
Thank you so much for reminding me of God's promise to answer our fervent prayers.
Sometimes I do get discouraged, especially when there are so many heartbreaking situations people are going through, and it seems like my prayers just hit the ceiling and bounce back at my feet. :-{ I need to let it stay in God's hands, and trust Him. His timing is not my timing. Thank you for the reminder.
Loretta
=^..^=
This is such an intense time when it comes to testing one's faith...I know for me, I want everything to go well and smoothly for everyone and that just makes the bumps in the road more frustrating.
I know how important it is to remember to have faith in the future...and that tomorrow is another day.
Post a Comment