Righteous

Righteous.  It's a word I've often heard and read but one I've come to realize lately that I just don't understand what it means to be righteous or claim the righteousness of Christ in my life.  James 5:16 states that tremendous power is made available when a righteous man prays.  I want that tremendous power.  I want that power, boldness and confidence when I pray because it's there for me and I'm not taking hold of it. 

I'm reading a book about overcoming approval addiction and it's helping me realize that I know about the principal of prayer but not the the power of prayer available to the believer who understands righteousness.  I often feel insecure and timid when I pray, guilt weighs heavily and my prayer life is weak because of it. 

How do I claim this righteousness?  There are things I do claim confidently.

I am His.
I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
He knows my inmost being.
I am set apart.
The plans He has for me are good.
I am more than a conqueror.
Etc.

But to say I am righteous?  It feels like I'd be saying I'm perfect and being boastful.  I dropped my head just attempting to whisper the word in prayer this morning.

So what is it exactly.  Wikipedia says it is an attribute that implies that a person's actions are justified, and can have the connotation that the person has been "judged" or "reckoned" as leading a life that is pleasing to God.  Righteousness is one of the chief attributes of God as portrayed in the Bible. Its chief meaning concerns ethical conduct. (Leviticus 19:36; Deuteronomy 25:1; Psalm 1:6; Proverbs 8:20). It is used in a legal sense; while the guilty are judged, the guiltless are deemed righteous. God's faithfulness to His covenant is also a large part of His righteousness. (Nehemiah 9:7-8)

Hebrew definition—upright, just, straight, innocent, true, sincere. It is best understood as the product of upright, moral action in accordance with some form of divine plan.

Okay, that helped a little but it definitely doesn't describe me. 

I dug further, sought harder and this is what I've learned. 

Righteousness is obedience to the law. The law demands righteousness, and this the sinner (me) owes to the law; but is incapable of rendering it. The only way in which I can attain righteousness is through faith. By faith I bring to God the merits of Christ, and the Lord places the obedience of His Son to the sinner's (my) account. Christ's righteousness is accepted in place of my failure, and God receives, pardons, justifies, and loves me as He loves His son. This is how faith is accounted righteousness.  Our faith must grasp the righteousness of Christ, accepting it as our righteousness. Through union with Christ, through acceptance of His righteousness by faith, we may be qualified to work the works of God, to be co-labourers with Christ.

When I gave myself to Him, and accepted Him as my Saviour, then, sinful as my life may have been, for His sake I am accounted righteous. Christ's character stands in place of my character, and I am accepted before God just as if I had not sinned.  The active obedience of Christ clothes the believing sinner with the righteousness that meets the demands of the law.
 
So in short, what is righteousness?--It is the satisfaction that Christ gave the divine law on our behalf.
 
After reading all of this I have gained clarity but in truth, none of it was news to me.  I knew these things but I haven't been claiming the power and confidence that comes along with these truths. 
 
Because of Christ, God sees me as righteous.  I may continue to struggle with seeing myself this way, but I do know I am certainly thankful God sees me this way and I will continue to strive to lay hold of that promise and claim it for my life.
 
Aside from claiming righteousness I'm also turning 30 tomorrow and I'm excited to claim that as well!  The assumptions age bring will more closely match my life and I feel like they haven't for some time.  This is my life, not preparation for life like often viewed in one's 20's.  I don't feel older but I do feel wiser.  I'm thanfkul to be entering this next decade exactly where I am.  I wouldn't change a thing.  That feels amazing to say.