Thursday, January 22, 2015

Fumigating Your Prayer Closet

 "Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." James 5:16


Have you ever dreaded something  you needed to do? You put it off until it simply had to be done, but once you did it, it was not nearly as bad as you thought it would be.

We can be that way about prayer sometimes. We know it is important, but we fear running out of words and feeling guilty about it. We know our minds tend to wander, and so we don't pray to elude that spiritual embarrassment. Then there is that terrible feeling when we try to pray about a seemingly insurmountable problem and our faith falters. In discouragement, we sigh,  "What's the use?"

How do you overcome these obstacles and move on to a victorious prayer time?

First, always remember Satan invites himself into your prayer closet. He perfumes the air with the stench of discouragement, lights the black candle of doubt,  and plays the subtle background music of lies about God's ability to answer audacious prayers.

Hidden in the folds of today's verse is the key to victory. Read it again. Do you see it? The key is humility. When your mind wanders, own up to it right away and get right back to praying. When you run out of words, humbly ask the Father to put more words in your mouth. Pray through your roster of friends and family.

 What can be more humble than confessing your sins? Confession relieves the guilt that tries to stifle your prayers before you even start.

Another way to express humility is to take your eyes off yourself and  adore Him for who He is. Adoration magnifies the Lord to His proper size,  and your big requests don't seem such a drain on your faith.

Humility lets fresh air into that prayer closet, banishing discouragement, doubt, and drowning out the the voice of your accuser. The fervor will be there and God says it availeth much (does a lot of good.)

Your prayer closet awaits. Fumigate it with humility and I'll see you at the victory party!




2 comments:

  1. Thank you my dear for the reminder. In my prayer closet now - and spreading the sweet smell of Christ throughout.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hey Georgia! I am just now getting to this and it was just what I needed for today. I am feeling overwhelmed and this the perfect tangible guide of how to proceed. Thanks.

    ReplyDelete