Righteousness

Proverbs 15:29 - "The Lord is far from the wicked, but He hears the prayers of the righteous."

James 5:16 - "...The earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available."

What does it mean to be righteous? Implicit in the above is that our prayers are more powerful as we are more righteous. Selfish ambition motivates one to try to be righteous so their prayers are answered, but being selfish, their prayers will be selfish and their heart self-centered. So despite ones best actions and behavior, they are still not righteous, having been betrayed by their heart.

This suggests righteousness is an attitude of the heart. Sincere love of God, pursuit of Jesus, and acceptance of the movings and workings of the Spirit transforms a person and causes them to be focused outward while their actions are fully righteous and completely unintentional.

In this state, we are selfless and while our prayers will be full of power, they will be focused upon others.

Choosing to Love

Excerpt from "The Sacred Romance: Drawing Closer to the Heart of God"
Written by Brent Curtis & John Eldredge

God could have given up on the love affair with mankind. He could have resorted to power and demanded our loyalty, or given us a kind of spiritual lobotomy that would take away our choice to love him. Even now, he could easily obliterate our enemy and demand the allegiance of our hearts, but the love affair that began in the laughter of the Trinity would be over, at least for us. And Satan's accusation that the kingdom of God is established only through raw power would be vindicated.
Once we understand God's desire to possess our heart through love rather than power, we can fathom even more deeply the depths of God's anguish as he pleads with Israel through the prophets to give up their spiritual adultery and return to his love...
All of us have had poignant ecstasies of heart over a love affair that subsequently turned to immobilizing pain and shock as we realized that our lover could actually know us and yet leave us for another. But have you ever dated someone and you just knew, from the first time you met her, that she was the one you wanted to spend your life with? As you laughed and talked and marveled together, you felt your love deepen to a heart bond that you knew you never wanted to free yourself from. And have you ever been shocked to find one day that the one you loved so deeply and who you thought loved you just as passionately, had been dating other guys and, moreover, was spending more and more of her time with your worst enemy?
Have you ever had to literally turn a lover over to a mortal enemy to allow her to find out for herself what his intentions toward her really were? Have you ever had to lie in bed knowing she was believing his lies and was having sex with him every night? Have you ever sat helplessly by in a parking lot, while your enemy and his friends took turns raping your lover even as you sat nearby, unable to win her heart enough so she would trust you to rescue her? Have you ever called this one you had loved for so long, even the day after her rape, and asked her if she was ready to come back to you only to have her say her heart was still captured by your enemy? Have you ever watched your lover's beauty slowly diminish and fade in a haze of alcohol, drugs, occult practices, and infant sacrifice until she is no longer recognizable in body or soul?
Have you ever loved one so much that you even send your only son to talk with her about your love for her, knowing that he will be killed by her? (And in spite of knowing all of this, he was willing to do it because he loved her, too, and believed you were meant for each other.)

All this and more God has endured because of his refusal to stop loving us.