TODAY’S DEVOTIONAL (Saturday 28th November 2020)
“Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” James 5:16-17 NKJV
WELCOME TO THE 331st DAY OF OUR YEAR OF REJOICING
For a hundred and thirty-one days God has watched over us. Yes, He has done so much for us than words can capture. His faithfulness and mercy has been the reason why we are even alive.
When the enemy came against us like a flood, His Spirit lifted up a standard of His mercies for us against him. His faithfulness also spoke and vanquished him. Indeed, how great is His goodness stored up for those who fear Him. There is no end to the compassion that comes from Him each day.
Each of the 331 days that we have experienced this year has supplied amazing compassion from Him to us. Friend, it has been a blessing having Him as our GOD.
In our devotional this morning, we will be highlighting two important things in the Christian faith; the first is the practice of confession and the second the power of prayer. The practice of confession of trespasses is connected to the power of prayer, especially, prayer for healing. That is why it is important that we examine these two aspects of the Christian life.
First, the practice of confession of trespasses. It depends on the trespass, there are three people we confess to when we trespass and fall sick because of it. It could be falling sick in our physiologically life or any other aspects of our lives. Any area of our lives that becomes sick because of a trespass committed will need healing, and that healing cannot be unlocked without confessing that trespass to the right ear.
There are three right ears we confess a trespass to! First is the ears of the GOD we are in covenant relationship with. I did not say false relationship but covenant relationship. Confession of trespasses or sins is for true worshipers of Jesus Christ (people with visible signs of their true worship) who falls into sin or committed trespass. It is not for everyone who claim born again.
That is why many do not believe in confession of trespasses or sins. They do not see the need for it because they are not true worshipers. An unsaved person will never see the need to confess trespasses as the Bible recommends for the saved. The reason is because they do not need confession of sin to become saved but salvation from a sinful life.
That is why there is no place in the Bible where GOD recommends the unsaved to confess their trespasses and be healed. He only requested that they surrender their lives, truly and totally, to the LORD and receive the power to be sons of GOD.
THE CHRISTIAN PRACTICE OF CONFESSION OF TRESPASSES IS NOT FOR THE UNSAVED BUT FOR THE TRULY SAVED.
Sadly, a lot of Christians are not truly saved, but they go for confession of sins weekly. That is why the return to those sins the very next minute.
Unsaved Christians do not need to confess any sins or trespasses when they become sick in any aspects of their lives. They just need to encounter the LORD in Spirit and in truth and become saved. Confession of trespasses will get none of them healed of any sickness in the body or their lives.
And a lot are very sick in their financial lives, marital lives, and etc. and are in dire need of healing and deliverance. They are sick, not because there is a sin or trespass to confess, but because they are yet to step into the New life in Christ Jesus, which can only happen through a genuine salvation encounter.
The right person to confess sins or trespasses therefore, is a true worshiper of Jesus or a genuinely saved Child of God who falls into sin or trespass and got stricken by the enemy because of it, not an unsaved Christian claiming a salvation or born again they have not truly experienced, or have experienced but lost due to spiritual carelessness.
The Bible says when a true worshiper of the LORD who errs confesses his or her faults to the right ear, it will give efficacy to prayers and make them effective enough to bring healing or deliverance to the person. That is why if your confession has not healed you by the power of prayer, it is a salvation encounter you need. You need an encounter with the LORD that will birth or bring you into the new life in Christ.
When the Right person confesses to the Right ear, something will break out in the spirit and bring a great Invasion of Heaven into the person’s life. This invasion will begin to turn things around for this person.
So the first right ear to confess trespasses to is God, the next one is anyone you are in covenant relationship with that you sinned against. It could be a natural covenant relationship like covenant relationships with our parents, relatives or friends, or a spiritual one like people you properly married to.
The last person a true worshiper of Jesus Christ or Child of God who erred is to confess to is a representative or representatives of GOD who are spiritually sound enough to minister healing to the person or people.
WE DO NOT CONFESS TO PEOPLE WHO ARE SICK SPIRITUALLY, NO!
We do not speak to people who cannot help us. Confession is not for people to know what we are doing because everyone has sinned; confession is for receiving healing in the sick parts of our lives. That is why it must be done properly.
You must confess to the right ear not any ear. The right ear will be healthy enough to rebuke, rebuild and renew you not sick. If he or she is sick spiritually, it will just be a form of godliness without power. A true worshiper must speak to a true worshiper in spiritual authority, not just any preacher called spiritual father.
Now to the next Christian practice, prayer.
I am yet to see something as powerful as prayers. Truly no one can accurately tell what right prayers can do because they unlock a move of GOD that words are usually too little to accurately tell.
How can human language describe the glory that a righteous prayer brings? It is most times not possible! You will just find yourself telling it with tears instead of intelligent conversation. There are things that prayers do that are too big for our mouths to tell. Only out tears tries to tell.
If you say you have been praying and yet what you may have been praying but your life is not working, you lie. You have not been praying because right Prayers works wonders. I am a testimony of that. I have seen right prayers do wonders in my life that only tears could speak.
This is not because am a preacher, no! It is because am a Child of God. We all have the same privilege. Do not let anyone deceive you. We can all approach the throne of grace and obtain mercy to find grace to help us in time of need.
Now I have realized again why Jesus said men always ought to pray and not loose heart. When we pray always we put God to walk always. When we do not pray, we cripple His work. That is the truth.
Heaven and earth answer to prayers. Angels answer to prayers. The Holy Spirit moves when we pray. Eternity invades time when we pray. Healing takes place when we pray. Power is unleashed when we pray.
PROPHECIES ARE MADE MANIFEST WHEN WE PRAY. WISDOM IS RELEASED WHEN WE PRAY.
The only problem we have is we do not pray right prayers, we pray other forms of prayers and expect God to move. No He will not. God only moves when we pray right prayers not just any prayers.
God will move to level mountains when we pray right prayers. He will move to fill valleys when we pray right prayers. He will make crooked places straight when we pray right prayers. He will give us divine direction when we pray right prayers. He will warn us of our wicked ways or of approaching attacks of our enemies when we pray right prayers.
Divine revelations will be release when we pray right prayers. Veils will be torn from our heart by his Holy Spirit when we pray right prayers! Right Prayer works such wonders that even our mouths cannot tell.
We are not saved from our enemies by doing any other thing than right prayers. Calling upon the name of the LORD to save us from the hands of our enemies is key to being saved from their hands. He alone knows what right thing to do to save us from their hands.
When David called, the Bible says God invaded the earth and rescued him. We are the next on His list. Our devotional text said “The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much”.
Effective fervent prayers are right prayers. They make tremendous power available. They are living prayers that provokes happenings in the heavenly realms to impact things on earth.
Now not everyone can pray right prayers. Our devotional text made it clear that it is the effective, fervent prayer of A RIGHTEOUS MAN that avails much. Not any religious man, but a righteous man in God’s sight.
The amplified version puts it clearer;
“The earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available [dynamic in its working].”
It did not say the earnest heartfelt continued prayer of a wicked man makes tremendous power available.
Righteousness simple means right standing with God. If you are in right standing with God, spirit, soul and body, you are a righteous man and it will show in your prayer power. The earnest heartfelt continued prayer of a man in right standing with God makes tremendous power available. So, only those who are in right standing with GOD can pray righteous prayers.
THAT MAKES OUR SPIRITUAL LIVES VERY IMPORTANT TO THE RESULTS WE GET IN PRAYER
If you are not in right standing with God, it will be frustrating to pray and expect a move of GOD. The altar of your heart must first be set in proper order like that of Israel was set before the fire will fall. If or hearts are not right towards GOD our prayers will not unlock anything from Heaven to the earth. If our hearts are not right towards GOD, our prayers will not touch Heaven to change earth. Don’t forget that.
Make things right with GOD first before praying. Time has come to stop all forms of hypocrisy and become real with God so he can help us.
Until our spiritual lives are in right standing with God, the results we get in prayer will remain dead and powerless irrespective of how heartfelt and persistent our prayers may be. This is where confession comes in.
One way we put our lives in order for prayers to work is through confession of our trespasses to the right ear as explained earlier. To get results in prayer, it is not in how heartfelt or persistent the prayer may be, as important as that is. It is in how right we are standing with God.
Until our spiritual lives improves, our prayer lives will not be bringing results. Thank GOD for His Holy Spirit who is always there to help improve our spiritual lives so that we will not cease from seeing results in prayers.
LET THIS SCRIPTURE BE AN ADDITIONAL MEDITATION FOR YOU TODAY
“Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.” Romans 8:26-27 NKJV