Understanding the Communion Meal. ~Rabqa

        

Some may wonder what it means to receive Communion. Most Christians recognise this as a holy & sacred time set aside under the leadership of the Church, when believers partake in the bread & the fruit of the vine as a reminder of Jesus' finished work on the cross. This can be celebrated once a week, once a month or even once a year. The bread & the wine or fruit juice as we use, are called the sacrament.

Protestants have two sacraments baptism & communion on the other hand Catholics & the Greek orthodox add this list Confirmation, penance, extreme unction, ordination & matrimony.

When Catholic participate in this meal they call it the Eucharist which means thanksgiving in the Greek. Today we give thanks by saying grace at the dinner table. Catholics believe that the bread becomes the literal body of Christ & the wine the literal blood of Jesus. This teaching is called transubstantiation. They say that in Mass, the same sacrifice that Jesus offered on the cross is offered again. This doctrine says that somehow the bread & the fruit of the vine are miraculously changed into the literal body & blood of Jesus when blessed by the Priest.  

I believe that when Jesus took the bread & the wine & gave them to the disciples & said (Matt26:26-28) Take eat this is my body. then He took the cup & gave thanks & gave it to them saying "Drink from it all of you For this is my blood of the new covenant which is shed for the remission of sins".

He was not speaking literally because He was with them holding the cup & the bread in his hands. Jesus identified the cup as the fruit of the vine in verse 29. Therefore the elements of the supper have not changed.

I think that Christ was representing His body & blood by comparing  them to the bread & the fruit of the vine of communion. He often spoke in metaphors in Jn15:5 He called Himself the vine, & that we are the branches & abide in Him, but He did not mean that He was a piece of the vegetation, What He was saying in fact was that He would prune us & cut away things whic no longer bear the kind of fruit He desires to show. & in Jn 10:9 He said that He was the door but He certainly was not saying that He was going to change Himself into a piece of wood. Here He was saying that He would protect His sheep in the fold from false prophets & from agents of the Antichrist.

Entering the sheepfold through Jesus is a saving action  & provides the sheep with an abundant life & provision.

Another point to consider is that He said do this in remembrance of Me (Lk22:19) We are to celebrate the Lords Supper often. Approach it with faith receiving the life & healing it provides. It is a memorial of His accomplished work. So if He literally became the bread & the wine, then it would no longer be in remembrance.

 in Matt 26:26-28 when Jesus was holding the cup & the bread, stating this was the blood of the new covenant, IF He was turning the elements into His literal body, then He was in His body while holding another body in His hands. Although Christ had the nature of God & man, He was not two separate bodies.

If we believe the bread & cup actually become the body & blood of Christ when partaking in communion we are denying thee things:

1) We deny Christ's finished work on the cross, when He cried it is finished. A sacrifice that needs to be repeated again & again is neither perfect nor complete.

2) We deny the priestly office of Christ. If the communion elements were His literal body & blood, then the elements themselves would become the sacrifice for sins. For anyone besides Christ to offer Our Lords body & blood to God as a sacrifice of sin would be to rob our heavenly High Priest of His glory.

3)We are denying Christ's human nature. If His literal body can be in more then one place at a time, then He did not have a body like our nature.

In Mk 14:22-24  is what we commonly refer to as the last supper. Jesus wanted to eat a final meal with His disciples & be strengthened in their fellowship before facing the agony that was ahead of Him. During the last meal He spoke prophetically, instructing them to partake of His broken body & shed blood by eating & drinking the bread & wine In V24 He made clear that His blood would seal & ratify, or validate, the new covenant they were to have with Almighty God. Today we remember Jesus' shed blood & broken Body through our taking Communion.

Like many others I had received & participated in communion services without truly understanding what I was doing. I knew the bread & the juice represented the body & blood of Jesus. I knew He instructed that we eat & drink of it in remembrance of Him. But there is a much deeper & more glorious meaning of communion.

Holy Communion was never intended to be an empty ritual with little or no meaning to those participating in it. 1st we take the bread: Jesus is the bread of life, He is the Word made flesh (Jn 6:35; 1:14). Our body lets us know when we are hungry, our stomach may growl, we may get cranky or light headed, you may not be aware that our spirit can also get hungry, so as we partake of the bread we take Him as our living Bread, the only source that can truly satisfy our hunger in life. We remember what He has done for us.  We take Him as our living Drink, the only source that can satisfy our thirst. As we drink of the cup it is equivalent of sprinkling blood or shedding blood  of the sacrifice of His body. It is important that we take both the bread & the cup. If people attempt to remove the blood, they are attempting to remove the power of the Gospel.

Communion can & should be a fresh dedication in our lives to the Lord, a reminder of the blood covenant that we have with God because Jesus stood in our place. In His great love for us, He took our sins upon Himself & remembers them no more. His sacrifice on the cross made it possible for us to receive His salvation, mercy, grace & favour.

In the Christian church, believers recognise the historical application of the Passover & the prophetic fulfilment of Christ, who, as God's Lamb, died during Passover (Matt 26:19). As the Jewish Passover reminds the Hebrews of their great day of redemption from Egypt & their future promise of inheriting the promised land, so communion is a reminder of our redemption through Christ's suffering & of our future inheritance with Christ in heaven.

During the 1st Passover, the flesh of a lamb was eaten at the table of the Hebrew family, & the lamb's flesh brought supernatural healing for the journey through the wilderness. The blood on the door stopped the destroying angel from taking the life from the first born. So the body & the blood of the passover lamb brought complete healing & redemption.

The body of Christ, God's final Lamb, brought healing through the wounds & stripes on His body & salvation through His blood on the Cross. Communion is a sign of our belief in Christ's finished work of salvation. 

When you take communion, realise that Jesus has given you His best. Remember that He shed His blood & gave His life for you. Communion is a time to examine your life ask for forgiveness in areas where it is needed. It is also a good time to release your faith & ask God for healing in your physical body, as well as every other area of your life.

The Seder.

We have celebrated  the beginning of the Paschal season with a Seder for many years now.  I remember our very first one.  It felt really weird & strange even though so much was familiar to us from scripture & communion. Still it was an unfamiliar cultural landscape that even now, many years later, is not quite a seamless fit.

Having said that we have continued & each year we have found we have grown a little more in our understanding & the *fit* is a little better.

Why bother?

Firstly & predominantly because Jesus did.

In understanding the death & resurrection of our Lord I began looking more deeply into what was actually happening at Passover.  What went on in that upper room?  What was the cup Jesus wouldn't drink? Why are these the symbols we use in communion?

 Secondly we celebrate with the Seder because it shifts our focus.

A Seder is primarily a family celebration led by the head of the household.  For this reason it translates well to a church family.  It is specifically designed to teach cross generationally & pass on an understanding of our faith.  

Everything in a seder points towards Christ & the fulfillment of prophecy. From the lighting of the candles [welcoming Christ, the Light of the World] to the closing Next Year in Jerusalem [the New Jerusalem, where Christ reigns forever & ever], Christ is the central focus.

Even the seder plate represents Christ:

• Lamb shank= Christ our passover lamb
• Matzah bread, 3 pieces: father, son & Holy Spirit ~ my body broken for you; Christ, the sinless man; by his stripes we are healed
• The roasted egg= the destruction of the temple; Christ said, destroy this temple & in 3 days I will raise it up.
• The bitter herbs=our slavery to sin,  the sacrifice of innocent life, & new life
• salt water= tears of bitterness at our slavery, 
• Haroset=the sweetness of freedom

Then there are the 4 cups:

• The cup of sanctification
• the cup of salvation
• the cup of redemption

&

• The Cup of the Kingdom

Lastly~ it is fun.  Church can be so serious & for younger ones plain boring that doing something that is so much fun is wonderful.  The kiddies loved the hand washing.  I have no idea why.  Our youngest got excited each time the pitcher & bowl came out & she couldn't wait till it was her turn to have water poured over her hands & to dabble in the bowl but even our big boy was thrilled to be asked to pour the water for me. And absolutely everyone loved the hunting of the Afikomen!  Seriously.  Rabqa hid the afikomen & the adults called out, warm, cold, cool, warmer, HOT! as the boys shot around the room looking for it!

Oh, & the food!!!!  There are some seriously good cooks out there!

When We Come to Passover.

We are entering the Paschal season.  I use the old term as the term Easter actually refers to a European fertility goddess ~ hardly honouring to the Creator of the Universe. Paschal is also simply more accurate in that it refers to the Israelite custom of Passover & Passover is the festival Jesus was celebrating on the night he was betrayed. This has always been the high point of the Christian calendar because this is the point in time when God redeemed for Himself a people.

Before we begin I want to make very clear we are NOT Jewish, we are NOT messianic but we need to understand that Christianity is grafted into the root of Judaism [Romans 11:17/18 & we will understand many of the things of Christ better if we understand what he thought, believed & practised.

Now as always when you begin looking at the deep things  of God they work at multiple levels, including the prophetic, & as you will see when we celebrate our Seder next Friday the death, burial & resurrection of the messiah is hidden in the Passover.  It is full of rich symbolism that points to the fulfilment of the Torah in Jesus Christ. Matthew 5:17

I say it a lot because we tend to look at the bible in our own cultural terms & this creates misunderstandings:  Jesus was not a middle class European teacher.  He was a Torah observant practising Jewish rabbi. He wore the tallit or prayer shawl but not the skull cap which is a modern addition & would be contrary to the Holy Spirit’s teachings through Paul that men are not to cover their heads during worship. 1 Cor 11:7 And his prayer shawl would have had the obligatory Tzizit [also known as wings]at the corners with at least one blue thread. Remember the woman with the issue of blood?  Our bibles say she touched the hem of Jesus garment & was healed.  She did not; she touched the Tzizit of his tallit & according to Malachi 4:2 she was healed.  He kept the festivals.  We read of his attendance at the temple for the festivals of Sukkot[Jn7:37~39] & Passover. [Matthew 26:17]

So Jesus would have known the story of the Passover & celebrated the festival from childhood. He would have known about Joseph being sold into slavery in Egypt & how God used that to save his family during a prolonged drought.  He would have known all about the Israelites settling in Egypt & growing so numerous Pharaoh took fright & enslaved them. He certainly knew how God raised up a man called Moses to lead His people out of Egypt to prepare them for the receiving of the law.  Passover is essentially the remembering of that leaving.

Passover has been celebrated continuously for over 3 500 years since that initial leaving & it is foundational to the other festivals.

Now, the church has done some weird things over the years so I am going to lay out the original structure for you so you can see what a beautiful fit the old is into the new when you stick with what God did rather than what some churches have done.

Firstly we need to remember that the Israelites count a day from evening to evening, sunset to sunset, not from dawn to dawn. The celebration of the Passover begins at sunset.  It includes as part of its structure all the things reminiscent of that first Passover.

Secondly ~ & we don’t have time to cover everything in detail; you can read about it for yourselves in Exodus ~ Moses begged Pharaoh to let the Israelites go 9 times & 9 times Pharaoh hardened his heart & refused. The 10th time the first born of every household not marked with the blood of a lamb perished: man & beast. Only then was Moses allowed to lead the people out of Egypt.

Thirdly we think of Easter & count 3 days: death, burial resurrection but this is not all. The day following Passover begins the Festival of unleavened bread, which lasts for a week & is followed immediately by the Festival of the First Fruits. The festivals actually overlap each other so we have some crossover happen. On the feast of first fruits a grain offering was given of the first of the barley.  This begins the feast of Shavout, or the Feast of Weeks.  From the feast of the first fruits begins what is known as the counting of the Omer. Seven weeks & one day later a wheat offering is given from the first of the wheat harvest.

It’s a lot to take in I know but I want you to see how God designed the old to foreshadow the new.  Let’s look at some of the symbols. Before Passover begins every household goes through their homes meticulously & removes anything with leaven in it & burns it.  Why?  Leaven is a symbol of sin. Its removal & burning are symbolic that God totally removes our sin & remembers it no more. Hebrews 8:12

A lamb without spot or blemish was brought into the family home a month before Passover & carefully looked after before being sacrificed.  Think how Jesus became part of the human family before He was sacrificed.  Remember too it was the blood of the lamb that saved the Israelites from death just as it is Jesus blood that saves us!  We remember too that even after judgement has been passed on an individual or a nation God in His mercy & lovingkindness always makes a way out ~ as he did for the Israelites!  Protection & provision!  We are not appointed to wrath 1 Thess 5:9

3 Feasts, 3 Truths:

Passover~ Jesus blood saves

Unleavened bread ~ Jesus, the only sinless man,  bore our sin/ was buried & death could not hold Him

First Fruits ~ Jesus was resurrected, the first fruits of all who will be raised from the dead

Passover was one of the festivals where it was commanded that the entire nation should go to Jerusalem to celebrate ~ so when Jesus was welcomed into the city it was the whole nation that welcomed Him crying, Hosanna, which means save us now. That’s what He was doing but they failed to understand it.

Finally Passover does not officially end until the counting of the Omer is finished.  What do we find 50 days, or seven weeks one day after Jesus resurrection?  Pentecost! The story of Jesus death, burial & resurrection does not officially end until the Holy Spirit arrives to seal, comfort, lead, & impart Truth into those who believed in Christ.

I don’t want to complicate things with the math but First Fruits always falls on a Sunday, the day Jesus was resurrected.

Now there are 2 final points I want to make because we must be in no doubt about who Jesus is or what He came to do or what the Passover is referring to.

In Exodus 3:14 God says this to Moses: This is what you are to say to the Israelites, I Am has sent me to you. I Am is one of the names of God. So when Jesus says I am the bread of life jn 6:35, I am the light of the world Jn 8:12, I am the good shepherd Jn10:11, I am the resurrection & the life Jn 11:25, I am the way the truth & the life Jn 14:6 he is making a very clear statement about who He is ~ & he was understood to have made it or the charges of blasphemy against Him would never have been laid.  There is no doubt about who Jesus claimed to be.

In the end, when all the shouting & the tumult was done & Jesus was led away to be crucified, Pontius Pilate ordered that a sign be placed above Jesus head in all 3 languages commonly used according to Jn 19:20:  Hebrew, Latin & Greek. In translation it reads, Jesus of Nazarath, King of the Jews but in Hebrew it says Yeshua HaNazari VeMeleh HaYudahim.  If you simply take the first letter of each word it reads: YHVH ~ the secret name of God!

This is the secret hidden in the Passover.  Do you know what the other name for the Passover is?  It is called the season of our Freedom.  The Jews of course are only thinking of their freedom from slavery in Egypt but for us it is freedom from the bondage of sin & death for it is Jesus himself who said: So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free.

This is a wonderful season for those of us who believe & trust in Jesus Christ. Passover is the story of freedom, of a story hidden within a story. When the blood of Jesus  is applied to us we are saved.  We are redeemed.  We are freed.  

The Word of God or the Bible. ~ Rabqa

                            

Bible, the English form of the Greek name Biblia, meaning “books” the name which in the fifth century began to be given to the entire collection of sacred books the “Library of Divine Revelation.” The name “Bible” was adopted by Wickliffe, and came gradually into use in our English language. The Bible consists of sixty-six different books composed by many different writers in three different languages, under different circumstances; writers of almost every social rank, statesmen and peasants, kings herdsmen, fishermen, priests, tax gathers, tent makers; educated and uneducated, Jews and gentiles; most of them unknown to each other, and writing at various periods during the space of about 1500 years: and yet, after all, it is only one book dealing with only one subject in its numberless aspects and relations, the subject of man’s redemption. It is divided into the Old Testament, containing thirty-nine books, and the New Testament, containing twenty-seven books. There is a break of 400 years between the Old Testament and the New The Old Testament is divided into three parts: 1.    The Law (Torah), consisting of the Pentateuch, or five  of Books of Mosses 2.    The Prophets, consisting of… 1.    the former, namely, Joshua, Judges, the Books of Samuel, and the Books of Kings 2.    the latter, namely, the greater prophets, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, and the twelve minor prophets. 3.    The Hagiographa, or holy writings, including the rest of the books. These were ranked in three divisions: 1.    The Psalms, Proverbs, and Job, distinguished by the Hebrew name, a word formed of the initial letters of these books, emeth, meaning truth. 2.    Song of Solomon, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, and Esther, called the five rolls, as being written for the synagogue use on five separate rolls. 3.    Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah, and 1 and 2 Chronicles. Between the Old and the New Testament, no addition was made to the revelation God had already given. The period of New Testament revelation, extending over a century, began with the appearance of John the Baptist. The New Testament consists of… 1.    the historical books, via., the Gospels, and the Acts of the Apostles 2.    the Epistles 3.    the book of prophecy, the Revelation The division of the Bible into chapters and verses is altogether of human invention, designed to facilitate reference to it. The ancient Jews divided the Old Testament into certain sections for use in the synagogue service, and then at a later period, in the ninth century A.D., into verses. Our modern system of chapters for all the books of the Bible was introduced by Cardinal Hugo about the middle of the thirteenth century (he died 1263). The system of verses for the New Testament was introduced by Stephens in 1551, and generally adopted, although neither Tyndale’s nor Coverdale’s English translation of the Bible has verses. The division is not always wisely made, yet it is very useful. The Bible was written over a 1500 year period (approx 1400BC -100AD). It was written by one author the Holy Spirit through 40 different people as mentioned earlier This is explained in 2Pet1.21 (NKJ)

Why the Word? ~ Ganeida

These are the notes I used, NOT the sermon I preached but all the scripture references are listed here as promised.

When I began this study I hadn't realised how highly God holds his own word.  As I researched & more & more scriptures turned up I realised I hardly had to say a word because it was all there in The Word.  My first study concentrated solely on what we call the bible because I have a pedantic sort of mind but the Lord took pains to point out that His word is more than just a collection of dusty old books; it is a living, vital thing because its embodiment was in the living person of Yeshua ~ Jesus Christ.

God wants his people to know His word that they might stand firm against all opposition & proclaim it boldly to those who are yet in darkness.  More importantly He wants us to know the one who is His Word.

In Psalm 138:2 we read:

I will worship toward Your holy temple,
And praise Your name
For Your lovingkindness and Your truth;
For You have magnified Your Word above all Your name.

John 1: 1~5 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

Then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name. But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay.

John 14: Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

John 5:39 ... "You search the Scriptures because you think they give you eternal life. But the Scriptures point to me! 

The Hebrew word, torah (תורה), is derived from a root that was used in the realm of archery, yareh (ירה). Yareh means to shoot an arrow in order to hit a mark. The mark or target, of course, was the object at which the archer was aiming. Consequently, torah, one of the nouns derived from this root, is, therefore, the arrow aimed at the mark, The target is the truth about God and how one relates to Him. The torah is, therefore, in the strict sense instruction designed to teach us the truth about God. Torah means direction,teaching, instruction,or doctrine. ~ Torah resources International

Remember one of the words for sin in Hebrew is chata'ah ~ seen best in the picture of an archer, who aims at the target ~the righteousness of God, or Torah, & misses the mark.

Tanakh (Ta-nack is how you pronounce it) is the Hebrew term for the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament). This term is an acrostic formed from the Hebrew letters "taw"(t), "nun" (n), and "kaph"(k), which stand for the three main divisions of the Hebrew Bible: The Torah (Instructions), the Nevi'im (Prophets), and the Ketuvim (Writings).

Yeshua (Jesus) said: "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Til heaven and earth pass, one jot or tittle shall in no wise pass from the Torah, till all be fulfilled." Matt. 5: 17-18

Alef is the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Tav is the 
last letter of the Hebrew alphabet.  The first and the last letters 
in the Greek alphabet are Alpha and Omega. In Revelation 1:8  we are told that Messiah is the Alef  and  Tav or Alpha and Omega

Torah, broken into its component Hebrew letter says: Behold, a man nailed to a cross.  ALL scripture talks about Christ.

KJV Exodus 18:20 And thou shalt TEACH them ordinances and TORAH, and shalt shew them the WAY<01870> wherein they must WALK, and the work that they
must do.

KJV Matthew 22:16 And they sent out unto him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, Master, we know that thou art true, and TEACHEST the WAY of God in truth ...

 Prayer:  Acts 4: 23~31

When they were released they went to their friends and reported what the chief priests and the elders had said to them. And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God and said, "Sovereign Lord, who didst make the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them, who by the mouth of our father David, thy servant, didst say by the Holy Spirit, 'Why did the Gentiles rage, and the peoples imagine vain things? The kings of the earth set themselves in array, and the rulers were gathered together, against the Lord and against his Anointed'-for truly in this city there were gathered together against thy holy servant Jesus, whom thou didst anoint, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever thy hand and thy plan had predestined to take place. And now, Lord, look upon their threats, and grant to thy servants to speak thy word with all boldness,while thou stretchest out thy hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of thy holy servant Jesus." And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God with boldness.

Faith begins where the will of God is known.  Knowledge of the character of the one in whom we believe, what he has done & who he is, is revealed in scripture

Admonition: Colossians 3:16

 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord

Why: Eph 4:11~16 And he gave some to be apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, unto the work of ministering, unto the building up of the body of Christ: till we all attain unto the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a full grown man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ: that we may be no longer children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, in craftiness, after the wiles of error; but speaking truth in love, may grow up in all things into him, which is the head, even Christ; from whom all the body fitly framed and knit together through that which every joint supplieth, according to the working in due measure of each several part, maketh the increase of the body unto the building up of itself in love.

What: Eph 5:26 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself up for it that he might sanctify it, having cleansed it by the washing of water with the word,

[WHY] that he might present the church to himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.

How: Romans 10:17 

Faith comes by hearing, & hearing by the word of God.

Because: ^{Psalm 119:105} Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

Our Weapon: Hebrews 4:12  For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

Against Satan

Our example Christ

Matthew 4 Starting verse 1

Three times Jesus reiterates It is Written & quotes the relevant scripture

Hinderances:

Unforgiveness Mark 11:22~26

Not walking in love Galatians 5:6

Breaking natural lawsPhilipians 2:26~30

Marital problems 1 Peter3:7

Unbelief Mark 6:5

Not maintain the right mental attitude Ephesians 4:22~24

Teaching: James 5

¹³ Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. ¹⁴ Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. ¹⁵ And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven.¹⁶ Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.

¹⁷ Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. ¹⁸ Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.

¹⁹ My brothers and sisters, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring that person back, ²⁰ remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins.

Galatians 6:10 refers to us as the Household of Faith

Romans 1:17

... For in it is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith:
as it is written, The just shall live by faith. ... 

Repeated in Hebrews Galatians, Habakkuk, Zachariah Ezekiel

So then, as we have opportunity, let us work that which is good toward all men, and especially toward them that are of the household of the faith.

Prayer of faith  [hebrew 11:1  Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Considerations:

Don’t ask amiss

changes things, not people

BUT

Can have the things God desires for us to have. 

Can pray that God’s best will be done in someone’s life.

Can pray that God’s will be done.

A righteous person is someone who has submitted to God’s will, thus positioned themselves in a condition of being right with God.  Knowing the word of God, activates our faith because faith comes by hearing & hearing by the word of God

3 Elements of effective prayer: according to James 5

The word of God

The Name of Jesus

The Holy Spirit

[Romans 8:26] And in like manner the Spirit also helpeth our infirmity: for we know not how to pray as we ought; but the Spirit himself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered;

The word is to be applied, for we are to be not just hearers of the word but doers also.  The word is a tool to help us walk out our Christian faith but it is only any good to us if we actually know it & apply it!  We will do better the better we know & follow the one who is The Word.