Image: Unsplash
There are many things I’ve misunderstood about God and the spiritual life over the years. Many of these misunderstandings were not because I was taught incorrectly or because I didn’t study. Many things have been misunderstood simply because my human mind operates in patterns and presuppositions that are quite natural to the human experience.
As an example, I came across a passage of scripture in James the other day. In every instance that I’ve heard this passage read or discussed, I assumed I understood the point the words were trying to make. From that assumption, I formed a conclusion long ago that I have maintained for years.
We all know what they say about assuming things.
What I Assumed
“Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.” James 5:16 NASB
I always thought this meant that if a person is righteous enough, God will answer his prayers. That is a gross misunderstanding of righteousness. We have no righteousness on our own. We are only righteous because of Christ in us.
Additionally, that kind of thinking implies that if our prayers aren’t answered the way we want them to be answered, then we have failed to please God. If our prayer goes unanswered, that must mean that we aren’t righteous. This, again, is a misunderstanding of righteousness.
On top of that, a person could read James 5:16 and think it means that we should do a better job at praying to get our prayers answered. Maybe if I pray harder, pray more often, pray more eloquently, God will answer my prayer.
Does this verse say what I’ve always thought it said? Have my assumptions been wrong for years?
How I Was Wrong
What recently caught my attention about this verse is the English word effective. The effective prayer of a righteous man accomplishes a lot.
What does effective mean?
The English word effective in the New Testament comes from the Greek word transliterated energeo. In some verses in the Bible, it gives the idea of great energy or strenuous effort. In James 5:16, energeo in the middle present tense conveys the idea of having done an effective work on the inward man.
When James talks about the “effective prayer of a righteous man”, he is talking about the prayer that has done a great work on the inward spirit of the person that is praying. So, what James is saying in this verse is that the prayer that has first changed the heart of the man that is praying is the prayer that accomplishes much.
This is a radically different way for me to contemplate prayer. When I submit to God in prayer, Christ’s Spirit aligns my heart with God’s heart. I am changed by the act of prayer. When my heart is in alignment with God’s heart, prayer accomplishes much.
It's not based on my righteousness, the length of the prayer, or the eloquence of the prayer. An effective prayer is based on the alignment of the heart with God's heart. A man that is changed by prayer as he is talking to God is effective in prayer and accomplishes much.
It’s possible that I have many times avoided prayer because I did not want my heart changed on the issues I have faced that day or that week. I want to continue to think, feel, or do as I have decided. I don’t want to align my heart with God’s heart, so I don’t pray.
And that is something to confess to God and ask for the gift of repentance. By continuing to study and to submit to God, our assumptions and presuppositions are changed, granting us the gift of new understanding. What a gracious and merciful God to those who believe!
May we no longer live by our assumptions.
For this reason the Lord is ready to show you mercy;
he sits on his throne, ready to have compassion on you]
Indeed, the Lord is a just God;
all who wait for him in faith will be blessed. -Isaiah 30:18
Copyright@TA Boland 2023
Comments