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“Prayer changes things”

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Maybe you’ve heard it said:

“Prayer changes things.”

 

In fact, the prayers of those who seek after God are powerful and effective. Sometimes they release God’s power to willfully change a particular circumstance. The sick are healed, the lost are found, the blind receive sight, sins are forgiven, the dead are raised. That’s what happened when Jesus prayed to his Heavenly Father. And that’s what happens when devoted followers of Jesus follow his example in praying, “Yet not my will but yours be done.”

 

Pray changes things…but does it change you?

 

Prayer isn’t so much about changing the mind of God as it is about changing the heart of the one who is praying.

 

The heart of prayer is in drawing near to God.

“Draw near to God and he will draw near to you.” James 4:8

 

How do you draw near to someone you love? Do you give them a chore list of things to do and then leave them to accomplish it? Of course not. Instead, you find fulfillment in the enjoyment of their presence. You take interest in what they’re thinking and their desires. You discover of ways to please them and then act on them. You commit to a lifelong relationship of love and find new ways of expressing it, even when you don’t feel like being particularly loving or when you don’t feel you have the power to carry on. Some of the closest times Marcia and I experienced during our journey with cancer was when we were in our weakest and most helpless moments.

 

Isn’t this a picture of what drawing near to God should look like? It’s only when we humbly confess how weak and helpless we are that we can really draw near to him. It’s recognizing that it isn’t our righteous efforts that bring us close to him; he was drawing us close when we weren’t even looking for him! He sent his Son, he gave us his Word, and he brought his people across our path to demonstrate his truth and grace. Maybe you didn’t realize it at the time, but now you see how God has orchestrated events and people to draw you even closer to himself.

 

We don’t see this when we’re going our own way. We let busyness and prideful ambition and other sins keep us away from him. We draw near to God not by spewing a a to-do list, but by humbling ourselves, submitting to his will, resisting selfish temptations, and seeking his presence. Then he will draw close to you. (James 4:6-8)

 

Humbly drawing near to God changes us in transformational ways. And when we are changed by his grace, we see everything around us differently through his eyes. When this happens, prayer not only changes things…

Prayer changes US!

 

Submit

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Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.  James 4:7

 

We like to have our way, not give in to others. Jesus showed us we should submit to authorities. But we think we have the right to ridicule our authorities. Jesus’ brother James warns that our selfish desires cause fights and quarrels, envy, and aggression. We think it’s the other person’s fault. We seek pleasure over God’s will and enjoy friendship with the world, instead of friendship with Him. (James 4:1-6)  These evil ways have become part of who we are. So what are we to do with these temptations? James answers:

 

“Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.” (James 4:7-10)

 

Submit, resist, draw near, purify yourself, grieve over your rebellious heart, humble yourself before God. Change! This isn’t a multiple choice option. It’s the path to drawing closer to God. He knows we will never be perfect at this. But there is danger in compromising on God’s instructions. What if instead of first submitting to God we just try to resist temptation in our own power?  When I try this I get beat up over and over. We live a lifetime of frustration, guilt, and defeat with just such an approach.

 

Worse yet is befriending and justifying that which tempts us. If we insist on this pseudo relationship with God He will give us over to our own way of thinking as He did with King Saul, with the Israelites, and with those in Jesus’ time. “Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts…” (Romans 1:24). He will do the same with us if we insist.

 

When we acknowledge that God is God and we are not, it makes sense to first submit to God’s authority over our thoughts, motives, and actions. Just as Moses removed his soiled sandals before stepping on holy ground, so we too serve our best interest when we ‘wash our hands’ of wrong ways of thinking and behaving. By purifying our hearts of wrong desires, and ungodly ambitions we humble ourselves before God. We can’t be humble while laughing at things that disgust Him, remaining apathetic to those things that make Him sad, or believing lies about who we are.

 

Humbling ourselves before God draws us close to Him, where He restores and renews us. Ask God today, what areas of your life have not been humbly submitted to Him and find the satisfaction of being lifted up by His righteous right hand.