Author: James Cheef Wright

6. Be anxious for nothing: but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.
7. And the peace of God which passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

In an age filled with constant emotional stimulus, is it realistic to be “anxious for nothing”? “Or is it, as some suggest, Paul’s words no longer apply today?” Because we move with the speed of
technology—which now reaches into every corner of our lives—there are countless mental triggers in today’s world. Multiple areas of our lives, and opinions from others overlap and collide, creating loops that continuously play in the conscious and subconscious minds of many people.

Not only are Paul’s words deeply relevant today, but it often feels as though they were written for the world we live in. And we can confidently say that it is just as impossible today as it was in Paul’s day to never feel anxiety. This is why understanding Scripture matters—and we must remember that all scripture is inspired by the Holy Spirit and is everlasting. Our minds rarely pause to consider that we are living in a fallen world, but God has never lost sight of this reality. Through His Word, He reminds us of it, and offers trust and faith in Him as the remedy for the anxiety that entered our lives as a consequence of humanity’s fall from grace.

Paul is not suggesting that Christians—then or now—believe that it is possible to never feel anxiety. The epistles we read as part of the New Testament were individual letters written to young churches that were under constant pressure. they faced persecution from the government of Rome and Jews who had not converted, false teachings keeping the early church in constant confusion, modern medicine had not evolved so sickness and disease led to death more frequently, and the absence of structured law enforcement that left the vulnerable exposed—just as the poor and needy often are today. If anything, the early church had even more reason to be anxious than we do now.

Paul’s words echo Proverbs 3:5, which states, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; and lean not unto your own understanding.” This is exactly what he urges through humble prayer with thanksgiving to God. When we become anxious about things within or beyond our control, we are leaning on our own understanding—which diminishes communion with God and dulls discernment of the Holy Spirit’s guidance. The words in Proverbs 3:5 must be heard with the full weight they carry. Every word was chosen with precision and should not be taken lightly or out of context.

Oftentimes prayers are sent into the air without faithfulness to the Word or to the Father. “Help me Jesus” is often said as a cliché rather than from a trusting heart. It is often used in times of despair or imminent threat, not always by those who have patterned their walk after Jesus. Just as the term Christian has become loosely used, it does not always describe someone invested in following the ways of Jesus Christ and thinking like Him.

Scripture does not promise that following Jesus puts an end to affliction or despair. The conditions that cause stress and anxiety are born out of a fallen world, and all people, regardless of religious affiliation, will face them. The difference is how they affect each person, and how they choose to respond. Some become rooted in anger and bitterness. Others turn to drugs and alcohol as an escape that often leads to addiction. Many of these individuals may even consider themselves Christians, yet lack the prayer life, the walk with Christ, and the submission to the Holy Spirit that form a true relationship with God.

The Apostle James offers a unique perspective when he writes, “Consider it all joy, my brothers and sisters, when you encounter various trials.” It feels unnatural to feel joy in seasons of affliction, yet James shows that trials carry a unique opportunity for spiritual growth. Hardships create the very circumstances where believers can learn to trust the Lord more deeply, sharpen their discernment, and experience the inner peace that only Jesus can give. This is how we build an intimate relationship with God, bring glory to His name in anxious moments, and become godly examples to those around us.

31. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice.
32. And be ye kind one to another. Tender hearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake has forgiven you.
33. Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children.
34. And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us, and has given himself for us, an offering and sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savor.

Scripture reveals that both God and Jesus experienced anger—what is known as righteous
indignation. This is anger in response to ungodliness, injustice, or the mistreatment of others. God displayed righteous indignation when dealing with the sins of the Israelites, and Jesus displayed it when confronting the hypocrisy and pride of the Pharisees.

Although Scripture warns us “Be ye angry and sin not, let not the sun go down on your wrath”
(Ephesians 4:26), it is the angry heart that makes a person contrary to God. Anger is not the sin—an angry heart is. So much so that Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 6:10 that “revilers will not inherit the Kingdom of God.” Revilers are those who verbally abuse, insult, or slander others—these behaviors flow from a bitter heart, not isolated instances of anger. Heaven is a place of pleasure with no pain or sin; therefore, the posture of the heart is what God judges.

To be a Christian is to walk in the footsteps of Christ—carrying yourself in love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control, the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). Worshiping humbly on Sunday, but living with bitterness, wrath, and anger the rest of the week is not being Christlike, and does great harm to Christianity. As believers, we are called to live lives that attract the lost and unbelieving to Christ. But when we live contrary to the character of Christ, we make ourselves hypocrites, weakening the witness of God’s Word.

Forgiving others and ourselves, frees the heart for the fruit of the Spirit to flourish. Confidence is built when strength is found in forgiveness, meekness, and humility—while anger is a defense and protector of pride. Forgiveness strengthens and builds relationships, and a warm word invites conversation. Joy is shared among those who fellowship, whereas an angry expression leads to isolation. We are commanded to walk in love as Christ loved us, to allow fruit of the Spirit to flourish from a heart shaped by God’s divine grace—the outward expression of being born again.

The essence of being Christlike is to love and forgive like Christ, and to reserve our anger for what is truly ungodly and unjust. Never carry unresolved anger into your rest; to do so is to risk giving rise to a bitter heart. When Jesus expressed righteous anger, He didn’t dwell in it; instead He would move on in love and peace—the example His brothers and sisters are called to follow.

12. Who can understand his errors? Cleans thou me from secret faults.
13. Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins, let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression.
14. Let the words of my mouth, and the meditations of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight. O Lord my strength, and my redeemer.

Jesus taught us to acknowledge the Father with the disciples’ prayer. Paul taught the early church to pray for spiritual wisdom and for love among brothers and sisters in Christ. David’s prayers in the Psalms cover a wide range of emotional and spiritual needs, but in Psalm 19 his focus is on being cleansed from sin—and in particular, from presumptuous sins. But what exactly does David mean by “presumptuous sins”? How do they differ from any other sins? And should believers today be concerned about committing them?

Believers should always be concerned about committing sin, no matter what label is attached to it. Not because we are under the law as David was, but because we are created in the image of God, and are called to live righteously in Christ Jesus. Psalm 19:12 captures the gravity of Jesus’ words in Matthew 26:41: “The spirit is indeed willing, but the flesh is weak.” We all encounter moments of weakness when we can physically feel the tension between our spirit and our flesh as we fight not to give in to the flesh. And when we do give in, we often do not understand the error in our judgment. Ironically, Matthew 26:41 begins with the words “Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation”—temptation being the entrance to sin, and prayer being the defense against it.

Verse 13 highlights David’s recognition that God is all-knowing and his willingness to remain fully vulnerable—spiritually “naked” before Him. In the original Hebrew, the words “presumptuous sins” are not used. The proper English translation is “from proud things.” The single Hebrew word for this translation is miz-zê-ḏîm, the plural form of the word zêḏ, which means arrogant or proud. With this in mind, we understand that “presumptuous sins” are willful acts of disobedience committed against God’s law—sins fueled by pride and arrogance, exactly as the Hebrew text suggests. David is acknowledging that a prideful heart leads to sin and risks falling away from God—what he calls “the great transgression.” But a humble heart is one that seeks God, aligns with Him, and finds righteousness.

What God considers sin often differs greatly from the human definition of sin. As such, there are times when we are not even conscious of our sins. This may be what David is referring to when he writes, “Cleanse thou me from secret faults.” A clearer understanding might be, “Declare me innocent of sins I am unaware of.” It also has to be considered that David may be asking forgiveness of sins only known to him and God—faults known to the Lord that may never be known by others.

Throughout Scripture, we are taught to be mindful of our tongues, to speak with clean conversation, and to guard the thoughts of our hearts. In this way, as followers of Christ, we become examples of what being Christlike looks like — and this is acceptable to God. How fitting that David closes his prayer with words that echo this very truth: “Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.”

David’s Psalms embody the meaning of God’s words “A man after My own heart” (Acts 13:22), and
Psalm 19:12-14 is no exception. Through David, we learn that pride and arrogance often lie at the root of sins we recognize, and that there are sins we do not recognize at all. He teaches us that we can pray for protection from a prideful heart and ask forgiveness for the sins hidden from our understanding. And when these are our prayers, the Lord is faithful to strengthen us, cleanse us, and redeem us.

Amen.

10. And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.

The Hebrew meaning of the word satan—pronounced sah-tahn’ (saw-tawn’)—is adversary, accuser, withstand, or opponent. In Hebrew, it typically refers to one who obstructs or opposes, not the inherently evil being whose true name is Lucifer. We see this in Job 1:6, where the Hebrew text uses ha-satan (‘haś-śāṭān’)—a functional title meaning the accuser, not a personal name. Over time, the title satan became associated with Lucifer. It is important to understand the distinction between title and name to avoid the confusing question: if Satan was already cast out of Heaven, how could he appear before God to accuse Job?

Lucifer’s position may have shifted from the heavenly realm to the earthly, but his strategy remains the same—and in many ways, is even more complex. But what made Satan an enemy of mankind in the first place? What drove him to be an adversary of God? In a single word: pride. Pride not only drove Lucifer to oppose God, but motivated him to want to be above God, and ultimately an enemy to those created in God’s image—mankind. And interestingly, pride is also the sin that causes God to oppose man. James 4:6 tells us, “But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.”

A main strategy of Lucifer is the very one that gave him the title Satan—the accuser. But without the authority to accuse you before God, he now takes a more direct approach: he accuses you to yourself. God gives each of us gifts that we often recognize today as talents—we even call people “gifted” when they excel in a particular area. These gifts are administered to us by the Holy Spirit as confirmed in 1 Corinthians 12:4-11. While Scripture does not offer an exhaustive list of all the gifts God bestows on us, we do recognize they are gifts from Him. Your confidence in these gifts—and your confidence in general—are key areas Satan likes to strikes. His goal is to make you unwittingly undermine God’s work in your life and cause you to lose faith in God’s promises to you.

Satan knows that not only are your gifts and passions a way for you to thrive in your natural life—but most importantly, when they are integrated and aligned with God’s will for your life, they bring glory to the Giver of gifts. When through his whispers he convinces you that you are not good enough to excel in your passions, he has done two things: he has made your life more difficult by causing you to settle for less, and he has kept glory from being brought to God’s name.

God’s Word is not only for our instruction—it is also a weapon against the enemy. When the enemy attacks, we must use the Word against him. Speaking the Word of God gives us authority over the enemy in both the physical and spiritual realms. In the spiritual realm, angels assigned to protect us are activated when we stand on God’s Word (Psalm 103:20). In the physical realm, declaring God’s Word in the presence of those the enemy works through will silence, expose, and drive back his influence. As we use the Word of God not only as a weapon, but as a faith-based foundation, it strengthens our confidence, builds our character, and integrity while tightening the very fabric of our lives.

15. Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
16. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
17. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof, but he that doeth the will of God, abideth forever.

Scripture teaches that the god of this world is Satan. This does not mean that he is equal to Yahweh, but that he has temporary influence over the fallen earth—especially over the unbelieving. He is the author of the pride and lust that leads to covetousness and envy. Desire becomes an appetite the more the eyes behold, because just as he tempted Jesus with the kingdoms of the world, he tempts those in the world to live like kings—often far beyond their means.

God wants His children to have abundant lives. After all, the riches of the world belong to Him, and He gives them for our enjoyment. But idol worship is just as real today as it was in the day of the golden calf—and throughout many generations of Israel’s history. John chose his words wisely when he warned us to not love the “things” of the world. Inanimate objects, strange as it may seem, can cause an effect that resembles infatuation. As believers, we love the people God created and we love Him, because God is love and His love flows through His children. But it is impossible to feel God’s love from a material object. Material items cannot return affection, offer comfort, or possess a Spirit that testifies with our spirit. Only God can do those things.

“Love not the world”, because the world is driven by three forces: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life — and these three work together to pull us away from God. Paul reminds us that “the flesh desires what is against the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh” (Galatians 5:17). This is the ongoing spiritual warfare that believers face in the form of temptation. The appetite of the flesh is fed by what the eyes see. Through the eyes, our pleasure points are triggered. This is why Jesus says, “Whosoever looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matthew 5:28).

Jesus was not condemning attraction, but the sin of lust. Lust begins with what the eyes see, takes
root in the mind, and settles in the heart, empowering the flesh. David lived this reality when his eyes were drawn to Bathsheba while she bathed. What began as a moment of admiration became a seed of desire and possession. When the eye moves from simply admiring God’s creation to desiring to possess it, lust is at work.

God Himself tells us that He is a jealous God (Exodus 20:5; Exodus 34:14). The Hebrew word
translated “jealous” is qanna’ and it has a much deeper meaning than its English counterpart. It does not describe the petty envy toward a rival or the insecurity of a lover afraid of losing affection. Qanna’ expresses the fierce, protective zeal God has for His people—a holy passion that refuses to let evil separate His children from Him.

Jesus came so that humanity could learn from Him, and through learning His ways and following Him, be redeemed and inherit the Kingdom of Heaven. His healing miracles and casting out of demons reveal the physical, emotional, and spiritual cost of mankind’s fall to sin. His compassion rooted in love, His righteous indignation toward injustice, His weeping when feeling the pain of Mary, His humility when washing the disciples’ feet as a servant—Jesus took on flesh to give us living examples of what it means to be righteous, holy, and godly. These are the attributes that lead to eternal life with the Father, and the reason we are called to follow Jesus and become Christlike.

6. But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.

God’s judgments are consistently fair and just. Although we are not bound to the Law as Israel once was, God still rewards those who follow His ways and allows the natural consequences of rebellion for those who reject them. If you look closely, you will recognize the pattern: God hands people over to the desires of their flesh when they insist on remaining carnal. The habitually lazy, He will not force into motivation, but He will promote the diligent. The heart set on lust or intoxication He will not restrain, but He richly rewards the sober mind that refuses to defile the body.

Yet God treasures the one who stumbles yet seeks Him to make their path straight. That person is not proud—they are the humble. And to the humble, He gives grace.

Once again, to fully grasp the text we must not rely on English definitions alone. In English, the
word grace carries various meanings, but even without knowing the Greek ‘charis’, we understand the biblical sense: “God’s unmerited favor.” The word humble, however, is different. English definitions often include ideas like “to make meek,” yet the biblical meaning is far richer. Although James does not use the word meek in 4:6, it is worth noting that the Greek word ‘praus’ (meek) means strength brought under God’s control—not the English notion of being overly submissive or compliant.

In James 4:6, the word ‘humble’ is ‘tapeinos’, which means to depend on the Lord rather than
self—God-reliant instead of self-reliant. These two meanings are not found in the English definition, but they carry the full weight of the biblical text.

God’s call for His children to be humble is not a harsh command but a loving invitation that positions the heart to be receptive to Him. Pride, however, blocks grace—and when grace is blocked, faith cannot lead the child of God. The flesh is followed, and the subtle voice of the Holy Spirit grows quiet. The world becomes louder, dependence on God becomes faint, creating a barrier through which God will not force His way. Instead, He allows the flesh to take the lead because pride has chosen it.

Humility, on the other hand, allows the free flow of grace and creates the very conditions that God draws near to. Where pride takes for granted, humility seeks His guidance. And when godly guidance is sought after, God responds with the same loving pursuit He showed Adam when He asked, “Where are you?” (Genesis 3:9). It was not a question about physical location, but about the heart.

A humble and obedient heart is spiritually sensitive to the Holy Spirit, is deeply inviting to God; this is the heart to which He gives grace. Although He is all-powerful, God Himself expresses His humility toward mankind through the unconditional love He pours out on us: “We love Him because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19).

Amen.

17. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not
    despise.

I have, as we all have, heard many people ask questions or make statements about God that reveal a complete lack of understanding regarding who He truly is. Since September 21, 1522, the Bible has been the best-selling book in history—yet best-selling does not mean most-read. Some of the questions that seem to span generations are, “Why does God allow evil?”, “Did God create evil?”, and “Why does God allow bad things to happen to good people?” Ironically, these same individuals can tell you that Lucifer was cast out of heaven, that as Satan he influenced Eve to eat the forbidden fruit, and that hell is his eternal domain. However, in the Psalms, we see an epic amount of accountability—even while acknowledging sin.

One of the most profound verses in all the Psalms—perhaps the entire Bible—is David’s confession in Psalm 119:71: “My suffering was good for me, for it taught me to pay attention to your decrees.” The fruit of God’s discipline was not lost on the New Testament writers; in fact, their understanding was just as strong as David’s. James 1:2-4 declares: “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” So does God find satisfaction in a broken spirit and a contrite heart because, as some suggest, He allows bad things to happen to good people? Or as time has gone on, have the hard truths about God been sanitized by a modern-day version of Him who exists simply to serve, comfort, and answer prayers?

It is said that time heals all wounds. David—like all the Old Testament writers—understood how
deeply God’s children wounded Him through idolatry and every manner of rebellion and sin against Him. And although separated by generations, the New Testament writers lived in the shadow of those transgressions and understood the debt their ancestors left behind.

Today, separated by thousands of years from biblical writers, we seem to have forgotten the wounds our sins still cause God—and the corrective measures He continues to use toward His children. Where David once cried in Psalm 13:1: “How long, LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?”, today, when suffering comes, it is far more common to ask, “Why is this happening to me?” The sense of entitlement that has become customary has replaced the weight of sin in our lives. But Hebrews 12:6 reminds us: “For the LORD disciplines those He loves, and He punishes each one He accepts as His child.” This is no different than the way parents discipline their children in order to correct them.

In Psalm 51:17 we find the Holy Spirit inspiring David to be vulnerable in order to confront a flaw in the human condition—because God is perfect, we tend to expect Him to make our lives perfect, regardless of our own actions. This is no different than when the person who, in pain, suffering, or loss turns to someone they know will pity them and take their side, even if they are at fault. And should that person refuse to take their side, they quickly become the target of the hurt individual’s anger and frustration. We expect God to understand our pain, but we first must understand the pain we cause God. He sacrificed His only begotten Son, and in doing so poured out the wrath meant for us, onto Him, so that all who believe may have eternal life with Him. And sometimes, we must sacrifice pleasure for a broken heart in order to truly understand the unconditional love God has for us.

Amen.

15. While it is said, Today if you will hear His voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation.
16. For some when they had heard, did provoke: howbeit not all that came out of Egypt by Moses.

In these verses, the writer of Hebrews uses the Israelites forty-year wilderness journey—often referred to as “the provocation”—to remind us of the importance of staying spiritually receptive to God’s voice, and faithful in our trust in Him.

The Israelites’ journey from Horeb to Kadesh-Barnea should have only taken eleven days before
reaching the Promised Land. However, they practiced lack of faith, disobedience, and rebellion against God, provoking a divine detour lasting forty-years intended to humble them into obedience and trust in the Father. All that were led out of slavery by Moses witnessed the plagues in Egypt, the miracle of the Red Sea, and daily provisions of manna and quail. They even heard His thundering voice from the foot of Mount Sinai. Despite all they experienced, nothing God did was enough to build steadfast faith in Him.

Today, God still desires the same faith and obedience from His children that He expected from the Israelites. While modern Christianity rightly upholds faith as a cornerstone, it frequently overlooks obedience—or mistakenly conflates it with works of the Law. Obedience to God should never be considered works, and in every way it should be embraced as a pillar of Christianity. Even our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ walked in perfect obedience to the Father; first, because obedience is required of all who belong to Him, and secondly, to provide the perfect example for us to follow. Philippians 2:8 tells us of Jesus: “Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”

Jesus Himself taught the importance of being obedient to the Father. In Matthew 12:50 He declared: “Anyone who does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother!” And in John 14:31 He said: “So that the world may know that I love the Father, I do exactly as the Father commanded Me.” Obedience is how we express our love for God, our willingness to be aligned with His will for us, and it is the ultimate outward expression of faith. Obedience also reveals Christ in us and the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit. The obedient heart cannot be hardened to provocation, because it seeks God and hears God through His Spirit within.

14. Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? And what communion hath light with darkness?
15. And what concord hath Christ with Belial? Or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?

In Paul’s day, farming was a well-respected and essential way of life. Eating from the land wasn’t taken for granted as it is today, so it was common practice to use farming metaphors when teaching spiritual truths. In fact, the word “yoke” appears 49 times in the Bible, showing that who the children of God attach themselves to is of great importance to Him. Jesus has specific instructions about His own yoke in Matthew 11:29-30 stating: “Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

What we read as the New Testament was not written at the time of Paul’s ministry. When Jesus spoke of His yoke, Paul was still a Pharisee, making unlikely that he would have heard or respected any of Jesus’ teachings. This just adds weight to the significance of the yoke as a metaphor for the believer. It is a picture God intentionally preserved—one the Holy Spirit inspired writers to use across scripture, to teach His people how to walk in unity with Him.

It is impossible to avoid interacting with unbelievers; they are in our workplaces, communities, online spaces, and even in the social gatherings believers attend. Lukewarm believers can find themselves thinking and acting like unbelievers without even realizing it. So while unbelievers will be among us until the end of the age, it remains our duty to protect our faith by limiting the influence we allow them to have over us. Building close relationships with unbelievers risks being subtly led into sin. Gradually, the norms of the world begin to feel acceptable. “Jesus turned water into wine” becomes the justification that leads from casual to excessive drinking. “Try it before you buy it” becomes the excuse for fornication. Believers do stumble and commit sin, but being yoked together with unbelievers increases the danger of drifting into a sin-filled life.

The moral infrastructure that forms the foundation for the unbeliever is built on a completely different framework than that which forms the beliefs of the child of God. Forming a union with the ungodly will undoubtedly shake the framework your foundation is built on—leading to losses that only a complete course correction can regain. It is the kind of spiritual detour that requires being grafted back in again for spiritual restoration after repentance (Romans 11:23)—and the spiritual discipline and chastisement that come with that process is no small matter.

17. Pray without ceasing.

Although Paul was not one of the twelve disciples, nor was he one of the seventy-two Jesus sent out on missions to minister, his zeal for following Jesus Christ is unparalleled. He openly admitted that he had been the chief sinner and, as a Pharisee, the chief persecutor of those who followed Christ. Yet after being chosen by Jesus, Paul became one of the greatest examples of what it means to be born again. If Paul were alive today, he would rightly be called a prayer warrior.

His devotion to prayer provides us with one of the shortest and most profound verses in the Bible: “Pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17). He taught us to let our requests be made known to God with prayer and thanksgiving (Philippians 4:6). It was Paul who instructed followers of Christ to pray for all people—including political leaders—because when society is at peace, the Gospel can spread more freely (1 Timothy 2:1-2). But what is it about Paul’s prayers in Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians that align them with the will of God — and can do the same for us today?

Modern prayer takes “making requests known to God” and with it forms the sole foundation of
prayer—often focusing on material desires. Turning the promise that “God will supply all your needs through His riches in Christ Jesus”, into a service, rather than receiving it as a gift of grace. Another prayer that is common today is the “why me” prayer. Even though scripture teaches that trials, tribulations, and afflictions will come, many believers still find it strange when they do. Much worse, wavering faith has become common when prayers are not answered according to personal expectation. But if all of God’s promises are true, why aren’t more prayers met with the expectations they are made with?

The answer is shockingly simple. Paul’s prayers are faith-centered—driven by a desire to understand God, learn to be Christlike, and effortlessly receive God’s promises to His children. He expresses this in Ephesians 1:17-19 he prays “That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ the Father of glory, may give unto you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him: The eyes of your understanding being enlightened: that ye may know what is the hope of His calling, and what the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints: And what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power.”

When you pray for spiritual wisdom (James 1:5), the Holy Spirit can enlighten you to God’s will for
your life—”the hope of His calling.” Scripture teaches that it is the Holy Spirit who gives spiritual gifts to believers (1 Corinthians 12:4-11, Romans 12:6-8, Ephesians 4:11-13). God has a plan for each of His children, and He provides them with the gifts needed to fulfill that plan. A deeply rooted faith is what positions us to receive “the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe”—the glory of God shining through the child of God. Not works, nor wishful thinking, only true faith aligned with God’s will.

Amen.