Effective Prayers!

James 5:13-16

13 Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. 14 Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. 16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. NIV

Matt 21:21-22

21 Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and it will be done. 22 If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer." NIV

Let’s be real! Are our prayers being answered or not? Recently I read a portion of a book that dealt with the subject of forgiveness and healing. The minister admitted that at one time, only about 10% of the people he prayed for were actually healed. The main point of his book is that God will not heal people if they have unforgiveness in their hearts. The minister normally leads people into repentance first, then prays for their physical needs. The significance of forgiveness is a very valid point that can even be backed up by medical science that indicates some illness can be traced to bitterness resulting from a lack of forgiveness.

Government studies have shown that anger, hostility, blame and fear contribute to a number of conditions and diseases that adversely affect our health and physical well being actually shortening the human life span. On the other hand some studies seem to show forgiveness and the accompanying positive attitudes such as hope, compassion and empathy contribute of good physical health. Certain enzymes or chemicals are released into the blood that can either cause serious illness or contribute to good health. Many diseases including circulatory disorders, endocrine unbalances, arthritic problems and cancer are associated with the emotions that go along with unforgiveness. Some contend that true, heartfelt forgiveness causes a marked improvement of a number of sicknesses. I just read an article by the Mayo Clinic giving advice on forgiveness listing the positive health benefits to someone who is willing to forgive others.

Listen to what the Bible says about forgiveness and prayer. Matt 6:12 and forgive us our sins, just as we have forgiven those who have sinned against us. 14 Your heavenly Father will forgive you if you forgive those who sin against you; but if you refuse to forgive them, he will not forgive you. TLB Ps 66:18 If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me: 19 But verily God hath heard me; he hath attended to the voice of my prayer. KJV Isaiah 1:15 When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide my eyes from you; even if you offer many prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are full of blood; 16 wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight! Stop doing wrong, NIV Isaiah 59:2 But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear. KJV

God Help us to Forgive!

Luke 17:3 So watch yourselves. "If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him. 4 If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times comes back to you and says, 'I repent,' forgive him." 5 The apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith!" NIV

Forgiveness is not an emotion! It is an important conscious step of faith in God. Until we forgive someone we are in charge. We are holding them responsible and acting as judge and jury. When we have sufficient faith we step back and turn the situation over to God. Often we must repent of our anger, bitterness and lack of faith to trust God. We then make a conscious decision to release the person and problem to God. This would be the right time to begin to praise God and to pray for the one who has caused so much pain and grief in our lives. No one is worth ruining our relationship with God! Turn them over to Jesus! Pray for them and ask God to bless them. It can be done by an act of faith!