Devotionals by Raul Ries
MONDAY July 27, 2026
A Lack of Prayer
Yet you do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.
James 4:2-3
James revealed another key element in the lives of believers that had caused strife to thrive among them. It was a lack of sincere prayer. As a leader in the Church, and a man of sincere prayer himself, he had to further rebuke them. They were either not praying or, when they did, their prayers had selfish motives.
It is important to examine the motivation of our prayers. Why not pray to have the mind and heart of God? Our lives need to be aligned with His will and not our own will. We should depend on God. Every day, we need to pray for His wisdom and knowledge. Listen, it is His strength, grace, and mercy that we need. We must never trust in ourselves, that is self-confidence. There is nothing quite like seeing our prayers answered in a miraculous way. Prayer works! God rewards those who seek Him. He blesses them!
Prayer is vitality important. It is like oxygen to our lungs, and we cannot survive without it. I believe with all my heart that every Christian needs to cultivate a personal devotional life with God. Every day we need to get up early, do our devotions and pray. Otherwise, we will find ourselves easily ensnared in our trials and temptations, all because we failed to pray.
Honestly, I believe people survive each day by getting a cup of coffee than by daily prayer––think about that!
To clasp the hands in prayer is the beginning of an uprising against the disorder of the world.
~Karl Barth~
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About Raul Ries
Raul Ries is the Senior Pastor of Calvary Chapel Golden Springs and President of Somebody Loves You Ministries. After his miraculous conversion in 1971, Raul began to read and study the Bible extensively even though he had a limited education. In 1974 he began a home Bible study with seven other committed individuals. Soon, he started to preach and counsel youth during the noon hour at his former high school, Baldwin Park High. Calvary Chapel West Covina grew out of Raul's home fellowship, as well as his Kung-Fu studio, and was soon meeting weekly at an old converted Safeway store. In 1993, the congregation moved to Diamond Bar and occupied a 101,000 square-foot corporate building on 28 acres. Calvary Chapel Golden Springs (as it is now called) draws between 10,000 - 12,000 in attendance weekly.
Author of several books, including Fury to Freedom (the story of his early life and dramatic conversion), Raul Ries has also produced three films: Fury to Freedom (feature film dramatization of the book); A Quiet Hope (a riveting and stirring documentary detailing seven soldier's accounts of the Vietnam War and its aftermath); and A Venture in Faith (a documentary of the history of the Calvary Chapel movement).
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(909) 396-1884