Effective Fervent Prayer

… The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. James 5:16


In the Amplified Bible, prayers that avail much are defined as prayers that “makes tremendous power available.” In other words, God has given us prayer as a tool for the releasing of His power on the earth. No wonder Jesus taught us to pray, “Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” The Lord expects us to bring heaven down by our
powerful praying.

In Luke 11:1, the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray. Notice that they didn’t ask Jesus to teach them how to cast out demons or heal the sick. Why? Because they saw that the release of God’s power was closely connected to His strong prayer life. They often saw Jesus going somewhere alone to pray. They recognized that His ability to preach and do miracles came out of His prayer life. Therefore, “Lord, teach us how to pray” should be the heart’s cry of every disciple of Christ.

The starting point is praying from the position of righteousness—it is the prayer of a righteous man that avails much (James 5:16). The blood of Jesus gives us the privilege to come boldly before the Lord. Unfortunately, many Christians are told that their prayers may not be good enough to be heard by God. So they are given prescribed prayer books as the method for prayer. But we have all been made righteous through the blood of Jesus Christ the moment we are born again.

And as we mature in the Lord, our righteousness will lead us into true holiness. The more you spend time with the Lord in prayer, the more you will find a hunger in your life for holiness. You want to be more like Him. God will begin to cleanse you, mold you and show you His own heart. You will begin to understand God and become His friend. Prayer is really fellowshipping with God, working with God in the Spirit and living your life in the unseen realm.

For prayer to be powerful, it has to be fervent (5:16). In the original Greek text, “fervent” has the same meaning as “fire.” So fervent praying means to pray with red hot, intense passion. To pray with purpose and with all of your heart.

Finally, your prayer should be effective. That means that your prayer should bring forth results. We need to learn how to have our prayers answered on a regular basis. The good news is that God wants that for us too: “Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full” (John 16:24).