DAY 9: COMMAND….”This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success….Joshua 1:8

CONSIDER THIS: The command from Joshua to the Israelites entering Canaan is for all people of all time. The book of the Law of God – Bible – is for all generations until He comes and we know this from several scriptures. Our calling is the following:  NOT to let it depart from our mouths/hearts/minds; to meditate on it always and to walk carefully in Holiness! Is this easy? No, it is not. We are going to drop our phone or tablet and crack the screen. Subsequently, the urge to let out a four letter word is right there. If it slips out, repent immediately, but if the Bible is second nature to you, then recall the words of Isaiah who told God face to Face “I am a man of unclean lips”, and the Lord cleansed his mouth with a burning coal. Bringing Scripture to mind will avert almost ANY desire to react in sin and fury.

ACTION:  Start memorizing Scripture. Apart from just reading over and over and memorizing that way, a good way is to write it out by hand. Using your prayer journal or ESV or other Journaling Bible, start by writing out Psalm 23. Be slow and intentional by focusing on every line which is written. When this is memorized, go to Psalm 34 and write only a portion per day. DO that for a month and watch the difference  both in you and in your alone time with the Lord.

Heavenly Father, thank you for Jesus, Who is the Word Who became flesh. Your Word in the natural here on earth is all we need, after Salvation and to continue to fight that which lives accuses and attempt to deceive us. Wpsalm e thank You that Jesus shows us how to approach these less-than-ideal situations by the Sword of the Word  – as in “It is written”. Help us to be so saturated by the Word of God that it becomes second nature and we can draw on the right verse, at the right time, for any occasion, for such a time as this, in Jesus Strong Name amen.

METHODOLOGY CONCERNING: EFFECTIVE PRAYER

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 5:16a).
When a righteous man (a saved person- male or female) prays, God hears and remembers. Even if the answer is to be sent from Heaven 20 years later, God has it. Conversely, scripture tells us that God will not listen to the prayer of an unrighteous man – unless that person is crying out to Him for forgiveness of sin, the first step to salvation. From the Word of God:
– But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear (Isaiah 59:2)
– Now we know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does His will, He hears him (John 9:31). 

As just an example, these two verses above prove that there is no doubt God will never listen to the “prayers” of the unsaved. However, God will not pay attention to a Christian who is out of fellowship either. That is, one who is currently going through a season of rebellion and is not praying or reading the Bible….or even attending church, on purpose. The Apostle Paul said “should I keep sinning that grace may abound? May it never be!” Think if the fuel injector in your car. If it is clogged by the impurities (sin) of the gasoline going in through it from the pump (the human), there is no way the internal combustion engine can function as was meant by the automaker.

Therefore, we must be free AND forgiven from current sin. We should never be like the person whom James talks about here in James 1:6-7 “But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord”. 

So what about about the “effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man“?…..READ MORE HERE: