Prayer of the Righteous

Today I was reading My Utmost for His Highest again. I am usually blown away at how Oswald Chambers packs such a powerful spiritual punch in just a few paragraphs. I pray to have just a tiny amount of influence on the culture as he has.

The topic is prayer. A great truth I was reminded of about prayer. God is faithful to answer the prayers of those who are faithful to Him. Chambers asks this question, "Have I been asking God to give me money for something I want when there is something I have not paid for?" The key is checking our hearts before we ask. Why should God answer our prayer if we are sinning in regards to what we are asking for?

Two key verses I came across that are clear on what God desires: to give us what we ask and that we ask in righteousness.

1 Peter 3:12
12For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.

James 5:16
16Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.

So as we pray we should always do a "heart check-up" to see what areas God is calling us to grow in and change.