The Right Kind of Praying
Draw near to God and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you men of double mind. (James 4:8)
Jas. 4:1-8; Ps. 73:28; Pr. 8:17; Jer. 4:14; Heb. 10:22; II Tim. 2:21; I John 3:3
What Is God Saying?
To be a friend of the world is to be an enemy of God (4:4). The battle line is drawn. It is time to choose God's way or the world's. They are not only opposites, they are opponents. These are clear, unmistakable, stinging, stabbing words. Christians must be especially on guard. We can be caught up in the spirit of covetousness and desire without realizing it. These are the world's highest priorities and the media is always after us (and in front of us) with subtle persuasion. We can even find ourselves praying for what the world counts as important and that is asking wrongly (4:3). We must not overlook the place of prayer in this ceaseless conflict. A life that is not at rest but in constant turmoil, results either from no praying (4:2) or wrong praying (4:3). The answer is found here, ‘Resist the devil.’ He is no friend. Put him in his place. Then ‘draw near to God and He will draw near to you.’
How Does This Apply To Us?
James gives us consecutive sentences (4:7 and 8) that go together like the red and green lights at a traffic intersection. ‘Stay away from the devil and he will stay away from you. Draw near to God and he will draw near to you.’ Trouble, even catastrophe, comes when we fail to stop at the red light and fail to move at the green light. All of us are drawn into the traffic patterns of the world. But God has given us clear instructions on how to get home safely. Wait for the red light—resist the devil. Move on the green light—draw near to God.
Pray With Me
Lord, here is a certain promise. It is Your Word. Here is a graci0us promise. It speaks to my deepest need. Here is a changeless promise. It is, like Christ who makes it possible, the same yesterday, today, and forever. It is good to know that when I turn toward You in sincere desire, You are already turned toward me with the yearning love that I have seen in the face of Jesus Christ. How good to know that for every tiny step I take toward You in faith, You are taking giant steps toward me, in love. The gap is being bridged from both sides. Faith is not the search of a desperate heart for a withdrawing God. Faith is not a frantic effort to recover a vanishing dream. It is simply drawing near to the Father, who, in the Son, draws near to me. Nothing gives more satisfaction to the empty heart. Nothing gives more peace to the troubled heart, ‘Draw near to God and he will draw near to you.’
Yet what keeps me from drawing near, O God? Surely there is no doubt that I would gladly leave. It must be something else. In truth, it is double-mindedness and a lingering attachment to things You can neither approve nor bless. Let me, therefore, not turn a deaf ear to the whole counsel of this verse, ‘Cleanse your hands ... purify your heart.’ The Holy Spirit has given the prerequisite for drawing near to God. He has given it in the sweet song of David. He has given it in the stern words of James, ‘Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? ... He who has clean hands and a pure heart.’ O Holy Spirit, You have given this counsel in the beauty of song and the clarity of simple truth. Help me to obey promptly. I want to find the God who is already seeking. I want to draw near to the God who is already here.
Through the mercy of Jesus Christ who has brought God to man and man to God. Amen.
Moving On In The Life of Prayer
When we come to prayer, it might be helpful for us to pronounce priorities as pray-orities. Then we will have the singleness of purpose, the cleanness of heart, and the humility of spirit that God can bless and honor. It is the door to effective prayer. It is the way to a blessed life.
