.A peek Through The Looking Glass.

James 5 says that "The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective." Pretty simple huh?

So what does it mean? Simply. If you are righteous your prayer life will be powerful and effective. And by inference, if you are not righteous, your prayer life will be impotent and useless.

To be honest, this Truth is scary... even terrifying. What if I pray and nothing happens? What if I seek the face of my Creator and He doesn't respond.

Maybe He is right there screaming the answers as I drown Him out with the noise of my favorite TV show... or maybe I am just so wrapped up in my press for comfort that I just simply cannot hear His cry. Maybe, just maybe, I never put myself in a position of need.

How do I know?
That's the best part... James already told me what a righteous man looks like!

A Righteous man:

1. Is Patient (Js 1:3; 19; 5:7-12)
2. Is singularly focused on God (Js 1:6-8)
3. Endures temptation (Js 1:12)
4. Reads and obeys the Word (Js 1:21-25; 4:17)
5. Controls their tongue (Js 1:26; 3:1-12)
6. Cares for orphans and widows (Js 1:27)
7. Rejects the filth of the world (Js 1:21; 27; 4:4)
8. Loves their neighbor (Js 2:1-13)
9. Illustrates faith by their works (Js 2:18; 3:13-18)
10. Has a humble spirit (Js 4:1-6; 10)
11. Is not judgemental (Js 4:11-12)
12. Does not amass wealth (5:1-6)

A peek through the looking glass helps me see... The Gold Standard.
If my prayers are impotent and useless, I am not righteous... If I am righteous as defined by the book of James... my prayers will be powerful have a real effect!

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