The Attributes of a Righteous Man
Abraham was set aside by God from among an idolatrous people, his honest desire to know God and to seek him played a great part of the groundwork of his relationship with God. Whether you are just now deciding to follow Yeshua, in a seasoned relationship with him in which he is taking you to higher levels or even rededicating your life to God; there is an excitement about being a new believer. There is so much to learn about our new found love for the word of God and the feelings of joy and happiness about being reunited with him after overcoming hardship or sin that gives us a strong desire for obedience. None the less we must realize that no matter at what stage of faith or where we are in our walk with God, our prayer life is essential. I cannot place enough emphasis on the word essential or even pivotal when describing the importance of prayer. You will find that prayer will become a part of your daily life and is at the foundation of our ability to not only engage in spiritual warfare, but to have victory over the enemy of God. It may come almost automatic in most cases and its depths may quite intense in others from the moment we decide to be a believer and follower of Christ. This can leave some questioning themselves and their faith. These trials can leave believers in a weakness of faith, the enemy of our souls has made it his goal to do just that! However, instead of looking at the situation before us merely with our human understanding, the bible tells us that we should be of good cheer, that Yeshua has already overcome the world and claimed victory over sin and death. God never abandons nor forsakes us and by giving us His holy word as a guide and the lives of early believers as examples, we draw confidence in the understanding that he is a God of His word, faithful to forgive if we repent and faithful to fulfill what he promises. We can never be righteous on our own strength, but through faith, obedience, complete surrender and open communication through prayers of thanksgiving, repentance and supplication do we grow closer to Him. We need God’s sovereignty and righteousness to make us holy, bringing us to salvation. For works without faith is dead, but through faith we may please God in obedience and deed.
Many believers want to experience a deeper spiritual walk with God and perhaps there is no other place in which to experience this than our prayer lives. As society infiltrates our churches less and less people know how to draw closer to God, so What are some things that Abraham did to gain God’s favor and blessing? Throughout the bible God is very clear and illustrates for us the path of His righteousness and how He manifests that righteousness through us and that is exactly what Abraham did.
The first thing he did is he sought God’s face
It was through this devotion that God granted Abraham favor and the gift of faith among the covenantal promises and blessing God bestowed upon him. Sometimes life is hard and can get busy right before our eyes. The things we have to accomplish in our daily lives know no boundaries, but even still we must put God first. Making time for God in a busy world has its challenges, yet when we look at the greatness of what God enables us to do in the simply allowing us to wake in the morning is reason enough to thank and praise Him. Business, even though a part of life can be the enemy´s way of keeping you from what we know belongs to God.Take time and walk away and disconnect, open your bible (preferably) or listen to your favorite podcast or bible study, but even as you do that take the time to speak to God. Making sure to meditate on what His word says with careful attention at what he is telling you. Sometimes the answer we are looking for is right in front of us.
Deuteronomy 4:29 King James Version (KJV)
29 But if from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.
He was humble and pure at heart
In his search for God, Abraham set aside everything that once defined him as a part of the idolatrous culture that surrounded him, choosing instead to place his faith in a God that he could not see but wanted so much to know. In doing so Abraham chose to allow God to guide him and entrusted that the new identity he would find in God would make him whole. Pureness of heart is something that is critical for believers, we must be willing to part from the sinful nature of the world, putting away all things that displease God and especially the things that we have allowed into our hearts and that have corrupted us. Among the most chief of these is pride and self righteousness. For only God is holy, righteous and worthy of worship. When we come to know and follow our savior the bible explains that we are a new creation before the Lord, and just as sure as he has removed and forgiven our sin far from us, we should likewise eliminate even the things that once took any greater importance over obedience to God. We must acknowledge both the righteousness and sovereignty of God, speaking honestly with Him and discovering that poorness of spirit which allows humility to accept God’s will and plan for our lives. For we can do no thing without Him acknowledging that when we fail to have faith and to walk in His ways we cannot rightfully expect that when we come to Him in prayer we should expect to hear from Him.
Obedient
Having been set aside by God for the fulfillment of His purposes through Abraham’s life; his obedience to do as God instructed and believe through the gift of faith given to him allowed Abraham to overcome the testing of his faith. At times Abraham, like ourselves, had a weakness of faith. The strengthening of our faith is the reliance on God and that despite the moments of uncertainty we face,knowing that God is always faithful will allow us to rest in His promise to never abandon us.
Prayer is paramount to a personal relationship with Yeshua. It is a pivotal component of faith so that we may grow in it and endure experiences that try the human spirit; making emendations from sin with the freedom given us at the crucifixion. Our human condition, only seemingly in command of our free will is merely an aspect of earthly condemnation. A censure that Satan readily amplifies, to serve as reminder of inequity in order to keep us apart from Christ for fear that we should discover we have already been ransomed in full. Thus prayer should always be honest, holding nothing back from God for fear that he should judge us or that we may disappoint Him. He is all knowing and there is nothing that you feel, have done or even think about that He doesn’t already know. Be honest about what is in our heart and on our mind. Being direct and open about your needs and fears, entrusting to Yeshua alone all of your burdens. We are without need for any other intersection on our behalf when speaking to God and confessing our sins. Making a distinction then between the spiritual things of God and those designed by man made cannon and sacrament.
There is but two requirements set forth by Yeshua that encompass the entire law. To love God with will all your heart therefore giving relevance to the first two commandments and the other love you your neighbor which includes all the remaining commandments. Meaning that if you love God and love your neighbor you would then be careful in keeping every aspect of the law, for they are all designed to express through our faith and deeds through faith our love for God. In this I address the Rule of man, like false doctrines and religions that would like for those who are in search of the Lord to continue to merely exist in an endless cycle of penance. Weighing the soul with the burden of our sins in order to created and to form a void , that when left unfilled by the grace of God puts the individual in this situation not only weakened in faith but susceptible to demonic attack. Leaving them outside the reach of God’s mercy, not due to any lacking on God’s part but rather from our failure to understand and acknowledge any true knowledge of the nature and mind of God. How mankind could ever receive the confidence to approach God and to accept by faith, forgiveness, repentance and salvation the manifestations of the Holy Spirit and the power of the right hand of the Almighty. Yeshua did not come into this world to condemn, but to set free the captive of the deceptions of this world, which is sin and whose master is the devil.
Often when people pray there are areas of their lives that requires a specific need of salvation. Only God alone can make all things new and restore them to their glory and correct the wayward, in that having not come to know Him whilst we were still sinners and even before our creation, did He die on our behalf. So that, we may be able to receive through this perfect and acceptable sacrifice the gifts of faith unto Yeshua, grace and mercy. Having had delivered us surely from the eternal death and from all form of earthly corruption of the mind, soul and body.
What is it that God looks for in prayer? In what manner should we pray and how often? These things are important. Equally as important is that we should examine ourselves; applying the correction of God’s word in the areas of our live that we find difficult to work through on our own, any matter of faith and obedience ironically enough through prayer.
Addressing our inequity through prayer and confession of them unto the Lord so that we may
James 5:16
“Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”
King James Version (KJV)
Prayer of Thanksgiving
Prayer of Supplications
Prayer of Blessing
Prayer of Redemption
Prayer of Deliverance
Worship and Praise