A good friend of mine recently asked me to pray for something important in his life. He followed up his request by citing James 5:16, “the prayer of a righteous man has great power”. My first thought was, “Crap, I hoped he asked more people than just me.”
Some Background
To give a little context: A while ago I asked another friend of mine (let’s call him Tim) to pray for me, citing the same passage. My thought was, “I know I’m not righteous, but my friend seems strong in his faith, I’ll ask him to pray for me.” And now, it appears that someone else is asking me the same thing. I’ll pray for him, of course, but I don’t know if I qualify.
And if I don’t think I qualify, I wonder what Tim thought when I asked him so long ago.
Apparently someone thinks I’m righteous (and, yes, I know that –through-the-work-of-Christ- God sees me as righteous, but that’s not what I mean). But I know what I do, and what I think, and what I feel when no one is watching. I know that sometimes I thirst for God, and a lot of times I just plain don’t.
If I want something from God I’ll ask him, but I’ll also ask someone who hangs out with him a little more than I do.
Some Questions
So what does it mean to be righteous? And how do we know?
Is Tim a righteous man? (I think, yes)
Am I? (my friend thinks so, I’m not convinced)
Is my friend?
Sometimes the Bible says that no one is righteous, sometimes it says that we are righteous because of Christ.
Does James just mean that anyone’s prayer is powerful?
Who do you ask to pray for you?
Who do you consider a righteous person?
What is your reaction when someone else alleges you to be righteous?
AND ….why?
4 Responses to The Prayer of a [Righteous] Man
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I too learned that through the blood of Christ and living in the body of Christ, we are made righteous in his sight even though, on our own, our righteousness is as a filthy rag – unworthy. Therefore if any man be in Christ he is righteous and God hears his prayers.
And while the man who “hangs out with God” a little more than you do may be a little farther along in his spiritual development, you are just as righteous as he if you are both “in Christ.” Therefore pray and trust God, for it is impossible to please God without faith.
That being the case I will ask any of my church brothers or sisters to pray for me and I have the utmost faith that their prayers will be heard. The same goes for anyone who professes to know Christ. I can’t judge their hearts so I take them at their word. And, even though I may not know a person’s faith or relationship with God, I will ask him to pray for me in the hopes that he or she will be effective. After all, we don’t know for sure and every little bit helps. And I’ve yet to hear about someone being cursed because they asked an unrighteous man to pray for them.
David Bland
The Naked Truth
well, I certainly do not think it hurts to have an “unrighteous man” pray for me either. And I believe the glorious truth that we are all righteous in Christ, I still have that gnawing feeling in my gut.
But I still want to sit with those who are “a little farther along” in order to hear their prayers and see them converse with Christ.
And I still feel a little fake when someone thinks I am “a little farther along” than they are…
Maybe I am farther, or maybe the assumption brings my hypocrisy to the surface in a way that makes me confront it.
Jared, I think I am probably as uncomfortable as being thought of as righteous as you are. While flattering, for lack of a better word, I’d agree with what you say you feel in your gut about yourself. Actually, I remember the moment you refer to. And reading this now gave me the shallow satisfaction of, “we’ll, at least Jared has had to feel as awkward being called Righteous as I did.” I don’t know what to do with the views I hold of myself vs. the views a friend has of me vs. the Lord’s various statements about me either.
hey! thanks for replying….
Part of me wants to say, “how could you be uncomfortable with being call righteous by a friend? I know the things you talk about and the things you wonder aloud about. I know the books you read and how you interact with people (we were roommates for goodness sake!)”
But now that I’ve had the opposite experience, I know that it wouldn’t be very respectful to you as a person to disregard your opinion on the subject.
I think it’s interesting that it took ten years for me to have the experience. I don’t know if that says anything about me, or you, or the people we have surrounded ourselves with.
Perhaps your little vindictive triumph in my own experience of dissonance says something about who you are.
I can just imagine… “ha ha ha… Now someone thinks he’s righteous!! Serves him right.”
there must be something in the fact that people who live with (or near) us, see good character traits in us…
it’s obviously not everything, though.