Comments Off on To See His Glory is to See His Goodness
Recently, I have been reading a tremendous book called “Gentle and Lowly” by Dane Ortlund. I would highly recommend it to anyone who longs to know the gentle and wonderful heart of God. As I read, a particular section from a familiar passage in Exodus moved me deeply.
The Lord chose to reveal His name to Moses in Exodus 34:5: “Then the Lord came down in a cloud and stood there with him; and he called out his own name, Yahweh.”
“16 Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results. 17 Elijah was as human as we are, and yet when he prayed earnestly that no rain would fall, none fell for three and a half years!” — James 5:16-17
Recently, I’ve been reading in the book of James. These verses reminded me of the power of prayer in a fresh way. James shows us that we experience healing, breakthrough, and spiritual strength through two simple but important practices: confession and earnest prayer.
Verse 16 calls us to confess our sins to one another and pray for each other so that healing can flow. Confession certainly isn’t about earning forgiveness from Jesus. On the contrary, His grace already covered us at the Cross. Instead, confession is about walking in the light. It keeps the enemy from cornering us with shame and isolation. It also gives Believers permission to live in an honest, transparent, and grace-filled way. We begin to heal when we step into the light with a trusted community and invite God into our weakness.
Then James points to Elijah in verse 17. He writes of a man “as human as we are.” A man whose earnest prayers absolutely shaped the world around him. Elijah wasn’t perfect; he was simply willing. His life reminds us of something we should never forget. That fervent, faith-filled prayer from ordinary people invites extraordinary intervention from God.
These Verses Remind Us
Honesty opens the door to healing. Equally important, earnest prayer opens the door to God’s power. We don’t need to be spiritual giants. We just need to always surrender ourselves, be humble, and be willing to pray.
Considering this, is there something in your life He’s prompting you to confess so you can walk in the light? And how can you take steps today to pray in faith, believing He hears and responds?
“Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.” — Acts 3:19-20 (NIV)
Peter had just performed a miracle—healing a man who couldn’t walk. The crowd was obviously amazed. But Peter didn’t take the credit. Instead, he pointed people to Jesus. Additionally, he told them to repent and turn to God.
I recently had the privilege of teaching on Galatians (6:6-10) at our weekend services. I entitled the talk “The Harvest and the Fire.”
There is surely so much rich truth packed in all of these verses. But one of my favorite ones is verse nine. It says this:
“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” — Galatians 6:9
Sometimes, it’s hard to live our Christian faith in a consistent way. It’s often tempting to give up or give in to sin. But this verse reminds us that the Lord is in charge of the harvest. Additionally, we will reap a wonderful harvest of good (at the proper time) if we don’t give up.
