Hello, my friends. Welcome back to another Friday Pray Together episode. I want to encourage you for being here, first of all, for being here with me as we begin this time of prayer. Because prayer is important and prayer makes a difference. This is a powerful thing we are about to do. The book of James says that the prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.

That's in James chapter 5, verse number 16.

Now, that verse used to give me a little bit of trouble as I would read it because we would say the prayer of a righteous person has great power and I would think to myself as I look at my behavior and as I look

at my sins and my mistakes and I would say well I'm not a righteous person therefore my prayer

does not have much power but friends that is not true because by faith in Jesus Christ, we are given the righteousness

of Jesus.

Romans chapter 3, verses 21 and 22 say, now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law. Do you know what that means?

That means apart from our good works, apart from our efforts to please God.

Righteousness has been manifested. It says the law and the prophets bear witness to it.

The righteousness of God that comes through faith

in Jesus Christ for all who believe. So my friends, what you need to be thinking when you're

wondering if your prayers qualify as these that are powerful in their working is, have I believed in Jesus Christ? If so, then the righteousness of God

has been given to you through faith. And so you qualify in that verse. You are the righteous man,

the righteous woman who is praying diligently for God to intervene.

Your prayers are powerful in their working.

So today, as we pray for these requests that have been sent to us,

let's not forget that it is Jesus who has done the work to make us righteous and it's by virtue

of his work that we stand before the throne of grace to find help in the times of need that we're

going to be expressing this morning friends thank you for joining me thank you for taking this

seriously it is time for us to pray.

Father, we are grateful. We are so grateful that you have given us the opportunity to pray.

We are thankful that you have given us the righteousness of Jesus from which we can pray.

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