Purified People Pray Powerfully
James 5:16b
The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.
A man was walking along the road with God. As they walked, they talked about the wonderful promises God made. Their path led them to a great city. And God told the man, “The wickedness in that city is very great. I am going to destroy it.”
Now, the man had relatives in that city. He didn’t want them to be destroyed. So, he said to God, “Are you serious? Are you planning on getting rid of the good people right along with the bad? What if there are fifty decent people left in the city; will you lump the good with the bad and get rid of the lot? Wouldn’t you spare the city for the sake of those fifty innocents? I can’t believe you’d do that, kill off the good and the bad alike as if there were no difference between them. Doesn’t the Judge of all the Earth judge with justice?”
And God told him, “If I find fifty good people in the city, I’ll spare it for their sake.”
But the man thought about that city. Were there really fifty good people in it? He spoke again, “What if the fifty fall short by five—would you destroy the city because of those missing five?”
And God said, “I won’t destroy it if there are forty-five.”
“What if you only find forty?”
“Neither will I destroy it if for forty.”
“Lord, don’t be irritated with me, but what if only thirty are found?”
“No, I won’t do it if I find thirty.”
“I know I’m trying your patience, Lord, but how about for twenty?”
“I won’t destroy it for twenty.”
“Don’t get angry, Lord—this is the last time. What if you only come up with ten?”
“For the sake of only ten, I won’t destroy the city.”
Wow! What power in that prayer! The man talks God down from 50 to 10. And this isn’t just a story I made up to show how powerful prayer can be. Abraham really prayed to God in this way, and God listened!
How could Abraham dare to pray this way? He was a man. God is God. How could an imperfect man tell the perfect God what to do, or even make a request of God?
It was not because Abraham had somehow made himself just perfect enough. There’s no such thing as “perfect enough.” You’re either perfect or not.
Abraham was a sinner on record. He lied twice that Sarah was not his wife rather than trusting God to protect them (Genesis 12:10-20; 20:1-17). He took the fulfillment of God’s promises into his own hands by having a child with a woman who was not his wife (Genesis 16:1-16). Why should God listen to him?
James says, “The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” Abraham was hardly righteous on his own. But in Genesis 15:6, the Bible tells us, “Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.” St. Paul adds,
Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah’s womb was also dead. Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. This is why “it was credited to him as righteousness.” The words “it was credited to him” were written not for him alone, but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness—for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.
Romans 4:18-25
You, too, are a sinner on record. Your sins may not be recorded in Scripture like Abraham’s. But the record of your sins is lengthy. The Scriptures do record the commands of God you’ve broken. They reflect your stained and spotted appearance. “Through the law we become conscious of our sin” (Romans 3:20).
If you, Lord, kept a record of sins,
Lord, who could stand?
But with you there is forgiveness,
so that we can, with reverence, serve you.Psalm 130:3,4
But what does it say in Romans 4:23,24 above? “The words ‘it was credited to him’ were written not for him alone, but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness—for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.” God has also credited righteousness to us through faith in Jesus. You are not worthy to approach God’s throne on your own. But Jesus is. And for Jesus’ sake, God listens to your prayers.
“Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Hebrews 4:16). With confidence! Because we know God will listen for Jesus’ sake! We don’t have to approach timidly, making excuses and just hoping God will overlook our unworthiness. We approach with all respect due to the almighty God, yet also the God who because of his grace has removed our guilt from us as far as the east is from the west. The God who calls himself our Father. Who calls you his child.
We’ve discussed the first half of James 5:16b: “The prayer of a righteous person.” We are made righteous through faith in Christ Jesus who was righteous on our behalf.
But what about the second half? “Is powerful and effective.” Though God listens to our prayers, can we really change his mind about anything? Join us for our new Bible study series “Thy Will Be Done: What is God’s Will for My Life?” where we’ll discuss questions like this.