“The effective prayer of a righteous man avails much” (James 5:16).

We saw last month that prayer is not something we do in vain, but is a necessary part of our Christian lives. We further learned that God hears two types of prayer; those of humility and those of authority. Prayer is not futile, nor is it doubtful hope, but it truly does a lot of good.

The verse above from James tells us, not only that “prayer avails,” but that prayer which comes from the righteous is the one found most beneficial. What does it mean, though, to be righteous? How is it even possible when Romans 3:10 tells us “There is none righteous, not even one?”

It is important for us to realize that Scripture refers to two kinds of righteousness, one that is impossible for us to achieve, and another that is attainable. Understand that God is the only one who can literally be righteous. When we say God is righteous, we mean that He is the standard of what is morally right, and it is in His nature to conform to and act according to what is right. In other words, God is perfection in His very being and in His actions.

The Old Testament is an account of God showing the people what it means to be righteous, and the people failing miserably. God gave them the Law, then the prophets, but the Israelites refused to live according to God’s high standards. In fact, they found that even if they wanted to, it was an impossible feat.

We were destined to an eternity separated from our Creator because God’s righteousness demanded our punishment. But mankind was given hope. God revealed the following to Isaiah.

The Lord looked and was displeased that there was no justice. He saw that there was no one, he was appalled that there was no one to intervene; so his own arm worked salvation for him, and his own righteousness sustained him (vs. 15-16).

When Jesus lived a sinless life and died a sacrificial death, He appeased the righteous wrath of the Father. Jesus made it possible for us to one day dwell with Him in Heaven and to experience righteousness. In the meantime, God the Spirit came to dwell in us upon our salvation, teaching us how to live righteously.

Before the Spirit moved in, we were content to live selfishly for ourselves. The only time we would feel badly for a sin we committed was when someone was harmed in the process. But, when the Spirit of God entered our lives we began to feel real conviction for our sins, not because people were hurt, but because we hurt our very Creator. Christ died so we could one day experience righteousness, but the Holy Spirit makes this righteousness real by convicting us of sin, mortifying that sin, and making us more like Christ in the process.

When we become children of God, He begins our sanctification process. He starts clearing away all of the impurities that distorted our original, image-bearing selves. As the righteousness of Christ becomes more and more known to us, we serve the righteousness we know to be right. Christ’s righteousness has enabled us to enjoy an eternity in Heaven with Him. Our natural response to this righteousness should be sacrificial servitude.

This moves us to the other way the Bible refers to being righteous. Passages abound where Scripture specifically calls people righteous. John the Baptist’s parents, Zechariah and Elizabeth, were called righteous, for instance (Luke 1:6). It is in cases like this, that the Bible uses “righteous” to simply mean someone who conforms to the rule and will of God. Anyone who placed the Lord in the position of being the center of their daily lives was called righteous.

Even in the many examples where we find a person called “righteous,” they can only be made so because of Christ. His sacrifice pointed back to the saints of the Old Testament. We see this in Romans where Paul wrote, “What does the Scripture say? ‘Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness’” (4:3). Paul continued later, saying that Abraham was “fully persuaded that God had the power to do what he had promised. This is why ‘it was credited to him as righteousness’” (vs. 21-22). People who adjusted their lives to live according to God’s standards were eventually given Christ’s righteousness, even though His earthly life had not occurred yet.

Our God-given responsibility now that we have Christ’s righteousness credited to us is to condition our lives by the high standards of God. We are to conform every part of our existence to the Lord and His holy ways. No, we will not be perfect, nor can our actions earn our way into Heaven; Jesus did all the work that counts. We are, however, asked to live as if we were righteous. The Bible calls this blameless living.

Righteousness is a quest to be more like God—to have Christ-like qualities. This means we are to realize the sacrifice Christ made for us, as we separate ourselves from the sinful systems of this world and reflect Christ to others. The illustration that the Bible uses of God being the Potter, while we are the clay, is very apt. That is exactly how we excel in our yearning for righteousness—submission to God, and allowing Him to mold us into the image of His Son.

When we are righteous, as the Bible regularly refers to it, our prayers “avail much” partially because of the attitude we carry as we pray. If we are totally conformed to the will of God, our prayers are also conformed to His will. We are saying, as Christ did, “Not my will, but thine be done.” Our prayers become a quest to know God, because that is what righteousness is. Let us pray freely and allow the Lord to mold us as a potter molds a piece of clay.

We have looked briefly at those doing the praying, but next month we will examine the prayer itself and how we can make it “effective.” Until then, I pray that God blesses you in ways that further His kingdom.