Life Giving Prayer Series

The result of such prayer?

he shall ask and God will for him give life to those who commit sin not to death.

Give life? What life is John talking about? Perhaps it is the life and light that has been the subject of his letter in contrast to death and darkness all through John¡¦s letter.

Intimate fellowship with God and love for God

Walking in the light

Walk as Jesus walked.

Love for the brethren.

Knowing and living the truth

Become mature in Christ

Abiding in Christ

Purifying ourselves

Listening to the Word of God

Abiding in the Word

The Word abiding in us

Confession and Forgiveness

Anointing

Not loving the World

Victorious living above the world by faith

Demonstrating love through sharing

Obeying His commandments

Confidence

All of these indicate the presence of eternal life, sonship, abiding in Christ, abundant life.

We know we have passed out of death into life by our love for one another. Failure to love or manifest these signs of life demonstrates death and darkness in our life. Prayer implores God to restore life to those experience death because of their sin. He who fails to love still lives in death.

¡§She who gives herself to wanton pleasure is dead even while she lives. 1 Timothy 5:6

Even Christians can become as the living dead. We can continue to walk in death and darkness.

Death is a state of unresponsiveness. Death indicates separation, alienation, pain, hopelessness, dullness, hardness, stubbornness. John touched on the signs of death as he did on the signs of eternal life.

Failure to love and hate

Failure to share with those in need

Failure to acknowledge and confess sin

Walking in darkness

Failure to abide in Christ and His word

Not living by the truth

Listening to and loving the world

Sin brings deadness to the soul that keeps us from enjoying the life God has made available through Christ and designed us to experience from the beginning. Sin brings a cloud that only gets thicker and harder.

Encourage one another daily lest we become harden4ed by the deceitfulness of sin. Heb 3:13

God will grant life for death in response to our prayers for one another. God promises to grant life to the ones (plural) sinning. The assumption is that there will always be sinning brothers that need our prayers, not our punches.

James also encouraged prayerful intercession for sinners.

Confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months. Then he prayed again, and the sky poured rain and the earth produced its fruit. My brethren, if any among you strays from the truth and one turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins. James 5:16-20

Just as John addressed many symptoms of soul deadness, James¡¦ whole letter addressed similar signs of soul deterioration and deadness. I don¡¦t fully understand the power of this promise.