Confess and acknowledge how you have offended one another and then pray for one another to be instantly healed, for tremendous power is released through the passionate, heartfelt prayer of a godly believer!

~ James 5:16, The Passion Translation

Confess to one another therefore your faults (your slips, your false steps, your offenses, your sins) and pray [also] for one another, that you may be healed and restored [to a spiritual tone of mind and heart]. The earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available [dynamic in its working].

~ James 5:16, Amplified Bible, Classic Edition

The struggle is real! There are times when some of my vices refuse to leave. I want to commit more time to God. I want to grow in my faith. I want to do great things for God and be the best for the people around me but there is just something. Something that will not leave.

Have you ever been faced with some besetting sins that fight you at every turn? For many years I was plagued by negative thinking. God did many great things for me. I saw God do miracles. I saw God heal. Again and again he did wonderful things but my mind struggle to retain it.

Try as I might, I could not break free from the cycles of frustration. Frustration gave way to fear. Fear lead to depression. Depression lead to anxiety. There were days when my mind was tortured. A heavy cloud rested on my mind that would not leave. It made thinking difficult. My mind would be caught in just one single loop. Constantly fixating on a problem that never changed. The more I looked at it, the greater it got.

I felt that prayer and the word of God was of no help. I lived this lie for many years. Until I took a stand. The day I told frustration that I would no longer partner with it was the day I was placed on the road to recovery. God delivered me from stinking thinking. Listen well! Unbelief and doubt is a terrible smell before God. You had better believe it!

Arming Yourself

You do not have to drown another day in your situation. You do not have to remain weighed down by the size of the problem. In just one moment, you can be set free mentally.

The moment you take up your weapon and fight change begins. Something shifts. The change begins with you! Take up your weapon and fight!

You have the right to bear arms! ‘The weapons of our warfare are not carnal. They are mighty in God to the pulling down of strongholds. Casting down imagination. And every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God.’ Jesus gave us great weapons to destroy (completely decimate, if you like) these strongholds in the mind, body and soul.

Prayer is but one of our weapons. We must learn to yield it effectively. God hears our prayers. He will answer our prayers. But there comes a time when we must pray the prayer of the desperate. The prayer of the determined person that will not give up until something changes.

I may not know what to pray. I may struggle to pray. That doesn’t determine whether I will get the desired result. What matters is that I am praying based on the will of God. If He has promised it. Then it’s mine!

I am in a fight! I do not have time to be cute. I do not have time to be nice, baby. I am in a war! Wars are bloody. I must quickly load my weapon. I have to load up on the Word of God. Time is a gift I cannot waste. Every shot must hit its target. I have no time to pray amidst. I must hit bullseye!

Our prayers are most effective when we are praying the Word of God. Have you noticed that during the storm, you loose the desire to read the word. This is no mere coincidence. The enemy targets the word of God to stop you from using the double-edged sword against him. When the word is used in prayer it gets results. The truth of God’s word can never be denied. Jesus used the Word to defeat Satan. So must you and I.

The Bible contains truth that will set you free. The day you get scriptures that speak freedom to your situation, is the day you will begin to see changes. Bars and chains will be destroyed. Believe me when I tell you. If you meditate on scriptures and pray them you will receive the desired result.

Prayer Gives Breakthrough

We are presented with a powerful example of the impact of prayers by Jesus. As the moment of death neared he faced an internal struggle. His body did not want to die. His spirit wanted the release. It wanted to break free from the confinement of the flesh but the flesh was fighting to live. The Bible says he prayed through until he was completely submitted to The Father’s will.

You may be saying, that was Jesus! I am not Him. I hear you. I hear you. Please listen carefully to what I am saying. If you believe this please change your thinking. That is not what the scripture says about you. All the power He had was given to you. Don’t you know you are seated in heavenly places with Him? He took authority over sin, death and the grave. He won the victory. All authority over the earth was given to Him. He gave you that power. You have been deputized to yield the power on His behalf.

What He did can be accomplished by you. When you start praying things may begin to go contrary to your prayer. That’s just a sign that what you are praying is rising to the surface. It’s like cooking. The heat from the fire will cause the pot to boil. If the food is not boiled it will not cook. Your prayer is putting heat under the situation. The bad things are rising to the surface so the wind may blow them away. Keep speaking. Keep blasting that situation with scriptures. Do not stop! Keep going! It will go!

Everyone has some sins that we must overcome. They are not above us. They do not control our life. Through fervent and effectual prayer we may overcome anything. ‘The fervent effective prayer of the righteous man avails much’. That is your prayer.

Don’t give up. Your persistent prayer allows you to release mighty power that is already in you. Use that power to shatter the problem. Pay no attention to the storm clouds that are forming. Break down that wall. Overcome that sickness by your prayer.

Do not stop praying until you get the desired breakthrough. Exercise your will through prayer. Jesus prayed until He overcame his flesh. Elijah was a man just like any of us. Yet his prayers accomplished much. He stood confidently in defense of God, against a backslidden nation. God honored his prayer when he called for a drought. Rain did not come until he prayed. You are a child of God. A greater covenant is available to you. You have more power available to you than Elijah and any prophet that every lived.

“For I tell you the truth, throughout history there has never been a man who surpasses John the Baptizer. Yet the least of those who now experience heaven’s kingdom realm will become even greater than he. ¹² From the moment John stepped onto the scene until now, the realm of heaven’s kingdom is bursting forth, and passionate people have taken hold of its power. ¹³ For all the prophets and the Torah prophesied until John appeared. ¹⁴ If you can receive this truth, John is the Elijah who was destined to come. ¹⁵ So listen and understand what I’m telling you. 

~ Matthew 11:11-15, The Passion Translation

Selah!

Prayer

Lord Jesus thank you that you always hear our prayers. For whatever is asked of the Father in your name will be made available to us. All your promises are yes and amen. They are ours to access. By your sacrifice you have made a better way available for us to be healed. By my heartfelt and persistent prayer I know I will receive what is desired. For you are a Father that gives only good gifts to your children. Every good and perfect gifts comes from the Father above who changes not. New every day is your mercy towards us. I am set free from every works of darkness through your mercies.

Freedom is mine. I am free in my mind. Free in my soul. My desires conform to the will of God. I am free in my body. I am successful in my business; in my career. I live in abundance.

Heavenly Father, I am your child. A child of destiny. A child of purpose. I am loved by You. I am cloth in righteousness. You took ALL my sins on the cross. By your blood I am washed clean and am delivered. By your stripes I am already healed. I am a new person. I am set free from every torment. Free from every anguish.

You are my Provider. My Healer. My hope, my trust is in you. My way is made clear by you. I am established in righteousness. For I am in you. Joined to you by the New Covenant, established in your blood. Thank you for your life-giving blood. Thank you for the spirit of truth. Your word is truth. Your Word sets me free.

Thank you for the victory! Hallelujah!

Selah!

Going Deeper Still

The Bible tells us that we must meditate on the word of Truth to be successful (See Joshua 1:6-8). Please fill your heart with the Word of Truth. Apply it to your life. When you do this wonderful changes will occur. You will grow from strength to strength. Your struggles will cease. One day you will wake and realize, that you no longer struggle with ‘that thing‘. The yoke is destroyed.

Hallelujah! Glory to God! No more chains binding me! I am free!

James 5:16-20; Luke 22:39-53; Matthew 26:36-56; 2 Corinthians 10:3-7; 1 Samuel 12:17 ; 1 Kings 17:1-7; 1 Kings 18:41-46; Joshua 6

Selah!

Credit: Featured image by Garon Piceli from Pexels.com.