I have been praying The Book of James for my family, it is a great book of the Bible to pray through for families. In this post today I will be sharing what God has shared with me to pray and grow through with my family from James Chapter One. I hope you will join me in the prayer devotional of James Chapter One and pray for your family.

Listening To James 1

As I listened to the first chapter of James, I had some thoughts and questions go through my mind and I wrote them down to share them. Let’s start with this: When I think of being a Servant of God, I wonder who are we as a family serving? Are we serving God first? Do we as a family have joy in our trials? Do the life tests we persevere through, produce good in our nature? is the work God wanted to do in us through allowing these trials, did we finish well? These are just a few interesting thoughts I had for my family as I continued to read James chapter 1.

Applying James 1

There is some really specific wisdom in this Chapter, that we as a family need to grow into. We need to remember to ask God for the wisdom we need. When asking God, we should ask, knowing that He can and will deliver. Doubt really changes up the face of faith in our family life. Another really good piece of wisdom for our family was about the riches that we sometimes pursue, these things may not be worth the pursuit, because they fade away, they are not permanent.

Praying James 1

As I read on in Chapter 1, some great insight for our family was that God is not the one tempting us. He doesn’t tempt nor is He tempted by evil. It is all us. We are the ones who are enticed by evil. Be Lame. So, we need not be deceived, sin will bloom into death. We, as a family need to do everything, we can to live moral lives, we need to aligned with the Word of God, because evil is so prevalent in our day and age and without God’s wisdom, we could be swallowed up by darkness. I pray we will be a family who listens up to God’s Word and does what it says. I pray we as a family who will never forget what the Word of God says. I hope and pray as a family we will be blessed in what we do, because we honor, respect and live out God’s Word. God is the perfect gift giver for our family and we need to be grateful to Him for His Word. As we do what is written in the Word, our family will be blessed. See, I was spot on. There is a lot in the book of James chapter 1 that we can pray about for our family, we can share with our family goals to become more Christ like in our being and doings. So, join me as I study, pray and dig deeper in James chapter 1.

Verse 1 – 4

1 Greetings! My name is Jacob,[a] and I’m a love-slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. I’m writing to all the twelve tribes of Israel who have been sown as seeds[b] among the nations.2 My fellow believers, when it seems as though you are facing nothing but difficulties see it as an invaluable opportunity to experience the greatest joy that you can! 3 For you know that when your faith is tested[c] it stirs up power within you to endure all things. 4 And then as your endurance grows even stronger it will release perfection into every part of your being until there is nothing missing and nothing lacking.

1. James 1:1 James is actually the Hebrew name Jacob, the name of the man who had twelve sons that formed the twelve tribes of Israel.
2. James 1:1 As translated from the Aramaic, which was the language spoken by Jesus and his disciples.
3. James 1:3 Or “when faith passes the test.”
   

Temptation may even be a blessing to a man when it reveals to him his weakness and drives him to the almighty Savior. Do not be surprised, then, dear child of God, if you are tempted at every step of your earthly journey, and almost beyond endurance; but you will not be tempted beyond what you are able to bear, and with every temptation there will be a way of escape. Quote By – F.B. Meyer

Endurance is a key indicator of spiritual fitness. Quote. By – Alistair Begg

Endurance is not just the ability to bear a hard thing, but to turn it into glory. Quote By – William Barclay

My Thoughts And Prayers:

We are growing through some really tough times as a family, as a community, and as a culture. Consistent thoughts lately for me are: “How will I navigate these times? Will they crush my soul? Will I be able to endure times such as these?” So many people are hurting, our family is hurting, our neighbors are hurting, we all are growing through so many changes that leave us nostalgic for the past.

My Thoughts And Prayers:

As I pray for my family, I know as I read through James Chapter One, that we will not lack any good thing. We will have everything we need like the things that don’t fade away, but those things of the heart, the character of the heart that grows in us as we yield our lives wholly-holy to God, we will have in abundance. I realize that our family will endure as we stay in the Word of God and as we are navigated by it, letting our heart passions respond to the Word, instead of our human conditioned emotions, which react quickly in adverse situations.

My Thoughts And Prayers:

I pray it up for our family, for us to choose to be soul saturated in the Word of God. I pray for our family that God’s word will reside in us and will come out of our tongue, attitudes, motives and actions. Lord God, may our response to our world will be from the depth of the strength of our inner spiritual core, which is heart to heart with God. I pray we will not be double-minded and unstable as we believe in the Promises of God, seek God first and do not allow other people to speak into our heart, only God gets that privilege of being the first One to speak into the heart of our family.

My Thoughts And Prayers:

I do know that the enticement to react to people is deception like no other. I can’t fix people, I can’t change their heart, opinion or their mind, so my human anger is not going to change anything or save anyone from their own foolishness. My reactions are enticement to sin, and not having self-control over my initial reaction will allow sin to become full blown unrighteous actions. This is something I hope God will change up in our family life. I pray we will respond up before we react out.

My Thoughts And Prayers:

Our family, the faith we have, it will be tested, not by people, but by the enemy who uses people. People are not controllable, only the Holy Spirit can prove what is true to them, We can’t. To endure temptation, our family must have a self-control powered by God, then and only then, can we persevere under the trial of human foolishness that is evil driven. We can’t be the fixer; God is the fixer. Listen up to this one minute encouragement.

My Thoughts And Prayers:

Sin, full grown brings about death. This was a huge admonishment in this chapter one of James. I was alerted to it and will be praying this up for my family. The enemy comes to steal, kill and destroy, yet the word of God’s truth when listened up too, produces a righteous response in me. The Word is planted in me, and I must do what it says, in order to be a person who chooses to follow after the truth of God. I pray for our family to be connected heart to heart with God, empowered by Him. I know this needs to begin with me, I need to model this for my family and pray it up for me and my family to be a mirror of God’s Word to our world.

My Thoughts And Prayers:

Self-control is a fruit of the spirit that I hope to grow in, because then my tongue will speak truth in love, and I will persevere through the foolishness of the human condition. I pray for our family members to be able to endure the foolishness of hateful people. I pray we will not react, but we will respond to God first. I hope from every moment into every choice, we will make the next right choice. I pray for our family to be God listeners, listening up to God first, being slow to anger, gentle as a dove, and wise as a serpent. In times such as these, this is so needed for our family. I pray for the fruit of self-control to blossom in our family members lives.

My Thoughts And Prayers:

I pray for our family to have an undivided heart and be stable in all that we do as we yield to the wisdom and truth of God. God does not tempt us, God teaches us. I pray for us to be a family who is taught by God; therefore, we will not be deceived and our family will receive every good gift God has for us. I pray our family, in the strength and wisdom of God, will be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry and produce the right living that God desires in times such as these. I pray for our family to be shaped by the Word of God and hope for us to do what it says as we are empowered by Christ in us, the hope of glory. Lord, keep our family from being polluted by this “Cancel God Culture” in times such as these. Jesus, our family, let us be people who cling to You, and look intently into Your Word, being self-controlled, doing what the Bible says.

Verses 5-8

5 And if anyone longs to be wise, ask God for wisdom and he will give it! He won’t see your lack of wisdom as an opportunity to scold you over your failures but he will overwhelm your failures with his generous grace.[d] 6 Just make sure you ask empowered by confident faith without doubting that you will receive. For the ambivalent person believes one minute and doubts the next. Being undecided makes you become like the rough seas driven and tossed by the wind. You’re up one minute and tossed down the next. 7–8 When you are half-hearted and wavering it leaves you unstable.[e] Can you really expect to receive anything from the Lord when you’re in that condition?

• James 1:5 Or “with an open hand.”
  
• James 1:7 Or “restless” or “disengaged.”
  

Doubt discovers difficulties which it never solves; it creates hesitancy, despondency, despair. Its progress is the decay of comfort, the death of peace. “Believe!” is the word which speaks life into a man, but doubt nails down his coffin.- Charles Spurgeon

My Thoughts And Prayers:

Lord I pray for the members of my family. I hope failure is not something that will define us. I pray that the Grace of God, this is what will define our family. Holy Spirit, teach our family how to not let failure overwhelm us, instead, open our hearts wide to God’s grace, which He soul saturates us with. We are so grateful God has an open hand to us, and loves us unconditionally with His mercy.

Verses 9-11

9 The believer who is poor still has reasons to boast, for he has been placed on high. 10 But those who are rich should boast in how God has brought them low and humbled them, for all their earthly glory will one day fade away like a wildflower in the meadow. 11 For as the scorching heat of the sun causes the petals of the wildflower to fall off and lose its appearance of beauty,[f] so the rich in the midst of their pursuit of wealth will wither away.

• James 1:11 In the land of the Bible there were many deserts with arid land. The rainy season is quite short and the burning heat of the sun scorched the earth until the next season of rain arrived. We live in a constantly changing world with riches and beauty quickly fading. Our hope is set on things above.
  

My Thoughts And Prayers:

This is such a good verse to remind our family of a substantiated truth that the chasing after of money, position, power is really futile, these things do not last. When we chase after God, He supplies all that we need and equips us with what He has purposefully planned for our lives. God’s hand of provision is always on our family lives, we don’t have to make things happen for ourselves. Chasing after the things of this world and trying to keep them is soul exhausting. Father God, I pray our family will chase after You.

Verse 12-16

12 If your faith remains strong, even while surrounded by life’s difficulties, you will continue to experience the untold blessings of God! True happiness comes as you pass the test with faith, and receive the victorious crown of life promised to every lover of God! 13 When you are tempted don’t ever say, “God is tempting me,” for God is incapable of being tempted by evil and he is never the source of temptation. 14 Instead it is each person’s own desires and thoughts that drag them into evil and lure[g] them away into darkness. 15 Evil desires give birth to evil actions. And when sin is fully mature it can murder you! 16 So my friends, don’t be fooled by your own desires!

• James 1:14 Or “hooked by the bait of evil from their own desires.”
  

Hebrews 13:5 Don’t be obsessed with money but live content with what you have, for you always have God’s presence. For hasn’t he promised you, “I will never leave you alone, never! And I will not loosen my grip[a][hand] on your life!” The Passion Translation

Money is like muck, not good except it be spread. – Francis Bacon

Colossians 3:5 Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.

My Thoughts And Prayers:

So many times, in my life time, I have been hooked by the bait of the enemy, thinking what I wanted was better than what God had in store for me. I so agree with this scripture, we are tempted by our own evil desires to have what we want, when we want it, and in the way we want it. Lord God, help our family not to be deceived in this way. God wants us to “grow through” this life, acquiring treasures in the dark.

My Thoughts And Prayers:

Lord, keep our family from kindling (Isaiah 50:10) our own fires and walking by a man-made fire because it will flame out and leave us in the dark. We want a cushy, easy life and sometimes we go way too far to try to make that happen, and we end up not with what we want, but we end up with soul torment. We try to achieve the desires that we think will bring us lasting pleasure, even if they are against what God says is right, we rationalize and we pursue them. Our desires are used by the enemy to fool us and to buy into something that is not really good for us, that ends up destroying us if we don’t wake up and turn away from enticement, and do what is right. Father God, keep us from this kind of evil desire, when it is all about what we want. Protect our family from this. Help us to walk in followship of You, Your way, truth and life.

Verses 17-18

17 Every gift[h] God freely gives us is good and perfect,[i] streaming down from the Father of lights,[j] who shines from the heavens with no hidden shadow or darkness[k] and is never subject to change. 18 God was delighted[l] to give us birth by the truth of his infallible Word[m] so that we would fulfill his chosen destiny for us and become the favorite ones out of all his creation![n]

• James 1:17 Or “legacy.”
  
• James 1:17 The Aramaic word used here, mshamlaita,means “complete, wholesome, abundant, sufficient, enough, and perfect.”
  
• James 1:17 Jesus calls us the light of the world (Matt. 5:14-16) and Paul describes believers as “shining lights” (Phil. 2:15) in this world. God is our Father, he created angels but he brought us into new birth. The Greek word anōthen (“from above”) is used by Jesus in describing to Nicodemus that we are born from above. We are lights born from above. See also John 3:7.
  
• James 1:17 Or “shadow of turning.” The implication is there is nothing that you will find wrong with God, nothing in him that could even remotely appear to be evil hiding. The more you get to know him the more you realize how beautiful and holy he is.
  
• James 1:18 Or “God having decided gave us birth.” The comparison in this passage is striking. Sin gives birth to death, God from his pure desires gives us birth to bring him glory.
  
• James 1:18 The Aramaic can be translated “the word of the rainbow-sign.” That is, the unbreakable new covenant promises we have as new creatures in Christ.
  

“A Christian may for many days together see neither sun nor star, neither light in God’s countenance, nor light in his own heart, though even at that time God darts some beams through those clouds upon the soul; the soul again by a spirit of faith sees some light through those thickest clouds, enough to keep it from utter despair, though not to settle it in peace. In this dark condition, if they do as Paul and his company did, cast an anchor even in the dark night of temptation, and pray still for day, God will appear, and all shall clear up, we shall see light without and light within; the day-star will arise in their hearts.” Richard Sibbes

My Thoughts And Prayers:

God is 100 Percent holy and pure; I am not. I have to deal with my human condition constantly trying to raise up an ugly head to the world. God has birthed me to Him, I have accepted Jesus, I can be led and navigated by God. This is my choice and it is a choice for my birth right of life, or the enemies future of death. The infallible Word of God is a perfect and good gift for our family, it is freely given to help us sort through all the deceptive desires of our enemy, and make the right choice the first time. I realize that light is something I can have, even in my darkest night. I ask God for His Light to navigate our family through these times, and I believe He will guide us in that way I never would have begun to expect. Jeus, our Light of Truth, is simply-significantly unique and amazing, His ways are not my ways, but I am so very grateful for them, thankful to be navigated.

Verses 19-21

19 My dearest brothers and sisters, take this to heart: Be quick to listen,[o] but slow to speak. And be slow to become angry, 20 for human anger is never a legitimate tool to promote God’s righteous purpose.[p] 21 So this is why we abandon everything morally impure[q] and all forms of wicked conduct.[r] Instead, with a sensitive spirit[s] we absorb God’s Word, which has been implanted within our nature, for the Word of Life has power to continually deliver us.[t]

• James 1:19 Although the Greek does not supply an object we are to listen to, it is obvious in the context that we should listen to one another, to God’s voice, and to his Word. May God give us listening hearts.
  
• James 1:20 Or “God’s righteousness will never attach itself to human anger.”
  
• James 1:21 The Aramaic word used here can mean “demonic activities.”
  
• James 1:21 Or “excesses of evil.”
  
• James 1:21 Due to the Greek sentence construction, this clause may refer to what preceded it, “abandon all forms of wicked conduct with a gentle [meek] heart.”
  
• James 1:21 Or “save our souls.” The Greek uses the effective aorist active infinitive σωσαι (sōsai) from σωζω (sōzō) and could refer to the ultimate salvation of our souls (personality, emotions, thoughts) and/or our eternal salvation.
  

Psalm 18:28 The Passion Translation God, all at once you turned on a floodlight for me! You are the revelation-light in my darkness, and in your brightness I can see the path ahead. TPT

“Do not say, “I cannot help having a bad temper.” Friend, you must help it. Pray to God to help you overcome it at once, for either you must kill it, or it will kill you. You cannot carry a bad temper into heaven.” – Charles Spurgeon

Proverbs 19:11 A wise person demonstrates patience, for mercy means holding your tongue. When you are insulted, be quick to forgive and forget it, for you are virtuous when you overlook an offense. The Passion Translation

My Thoughts And Prayers:

Human anger does nothing to bring glory to God’s Kingdom, it is a useless emotion that exhausts our soul. The more we absorb God’s word, the less we will react with our human condition, and the more we will respond out of the character of God. I pray this for our family. Lord create in me a sensitive spirit for Your way and a desire to follow in the footsteps of Your Holy Spirit. Implant Your nature in our family, may Your Word be the power in us to make the right choice, to be self-controlled in times of chaos, hatred and panic, to not react, but respond in kind like Jesus would.

Verse 22

22 Don’t just listen to the Word of Truth and not respond to it, for that is the essence of self-deception. So always let his Word become like poetry written and fulfilled by your life![u]

• James 1:22 Or “be a poet [doer] of the Word.”
  

“I consider that the chief dangers which confront the coming century will be religion without the Holy Ghost; Christianity without Christ; forgiveness without repentance; salvation without regeneration; politics without God; and Heaven without Hell.” William Booth

“The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and left untried.”- G.K. Chesterton

My Thoughts And Prayers:

Listening has purpose when it comes to the Word of God, because it is powerful and transformational and has a motive for changed actions. When we as a family, look intently into the Word of God, there is no other response desired than action of what we have learned. We are a people who are taught by God and with that comes the responsibility of walking out what we have learned. Hearing and doing is not natural, but it is supernatural. Because, what we hear can’t be done unless it is empowered by God’s Holy Spirit and that is why we stay in a vital-vertical relationship with God. We don’t give into our flesh; we are influenced by the Holy Spirit and we persevere hard times. It is my hope and prayer for our family, that we will have self-control and our actions will become who we are from the inside of our inner spiritual core, to the outside of our actions to this world. The Word of God was not just written to be listened to, it was composed by God for us to walk in the rhythms of its grace, love and truth. Let this be so in the heart of our family members.

Verses 23-25

23 If you listen to the Word and don’t live out the message you hear, you become like the person who looks in the mirror of the Word to discover the reflection of his face in the beginning.[v] 24 You perceive how God sees you in the mirror of the Word,[w] but then you go out and forget[x] your divine origin. 25 But those who set their gaze deeply into the perfecting law of liberty[y] are fascinated by and respond to the truth they hear and are strengthened by it—they experience God’s blessing in all that they do![z]

• James 1:23 Or “realizing his beginning [genesis] face” or “studying the face he was born with.”
• James 1:24 For the believer, seeing the man “in the mirror” is seeing how God sees us from the beginning, even before the fall of Adam which resulted in sin’s devastation to human hearts. The man in the mirror is the new creation man.
• James 1:24 The Aramaic can be translated “drift away from.”
  

Hebrews 2:1 This is why it is so crucial that we be all the more engaged and attentive to the truths^[a] that we have heard so that we do not drift off course. TPT

Faith never knows where it is being led, but it loves and knows the One who is leading.- Oswald Chambers

2 Timothy 4:17 But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion’s mouth. The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

“Do not strive in your own strength; cast yourself at the feet of the Lord Jesus, and wait upon Him in the sure confidence that He is with you, and works in you. Strive in prayer; let faith fill your heart-so will you be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might.”- Andrew Murray

My Thoughts And Prayers:

The times I tend to drift away from God and His Truth, are the times I am self-focused and I have my mind set on self-achievement, the desire to get what I want. When you push through to make a way for what you want, I have found this is such a dangerous way that you are paving. When I have kindled my own fire and walked by the light of a man-made fire, I have been soul wounded. Why? Because of the treachery of our enemy and how he deceives us so easily when we are walking away from God, towards what we want. I love being strengthened by the Word of God, I love the victory over deception, when I let go and let God lead me by His Truth. I pray this for our family.

Verses 26-27

26 If someone believes they have a relationship with God but fails to guard his words then his heart is drifting away and his religion is shallow and empty.[aa] 27 True spirituality[ab] that is pure in the eyes of our Father God is to make a difference in the lives of the orphans,[ac] and widows in their troubles, and to refuse to be corrupted by the world’s values.

• is referred to as the “royal law of love” in 2:8 and the “law of liberty” in 2:12.
• James 1:25 See Luke 11:28.
• James 1:26 As translated from the Aramaic. The Greek is “If one presumes to be religious but doesn’t guard his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is useless.”
• James 1:27 The Aramaic can be translated “True ministry.”
• James 1:27 The Greek word orhpanos means “the fatherless” or “the comfortless.
  

My Thoughts And Prayers:

This is truth. Been there and had a useless religion. We live in a “Cancel God Culture” with much chaos, in these times. I struggle with my mouth speaking sarcasm to those who belittle and defame others falsely. Sarcasm makes you feel like you have power over another person, but actually you never do, it is a lie and the truth is, sarcasm hurts you more than it does them. We can’t change another person by sarcastic words, it just never happens that way. Lord change this up in our family members. Listen up to this one-minute encouragement for God’s wisdom:

My Thoughts And Prayers:

The way of the world is to strike back when we have been struck, tit for tat, in mean conversations that defame and devalue others. This is not who God created us to be. As we walk in relationship with God, and follow after the Holy Spirit, we must choose not to be corrupted by the world’s values that are spun up daily by the deceit of the enemy. We must walk with Truth, and be found in the identity of Christ, not the cultural say-so of this world. I pray this would be so for our family. I pray Father God that every word in the book of James Chapter One would come alive in our family life, every bit of wisdom let us follow after it, let us resemble it. In Jesus name, I pray You would bless our family.

Thanks for stopping into the Family Table at The Bridegroom’s Café. It is so important to pray for our families. We hope this meal fed your soul and strengthened your inner spiritual core. The Word of God is so important in times such as these, we need to hear The Bridegroom’s Voice, clearly. I highly encourage you to take a Journey With Jesus and change it up in your listening habits, create a strong spiritual habit of listening up to Jesus First with The Bridegroom’s Voice, a very unique personal devotional. God bless you, MUCH, KimberlyMac Author.

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