We are now going to consider the third and last point in this study on prayer, which is:
3. THE ACT OF EFFECTIVE AND EFFECTUAL PRAYER
“Elijah was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.” James 5:17-18
We have come to the crux of this study, and we must give attention to it in order to get the best out of it. The scripture above reveals some very interesting and important components of an effective and effectual prayer life, which are:
1. PASSION
This is a powerful emotion that drives a person to pursue their interests and goals with a great sense of enthusiasm, dedication, and energy. We can capture this in one word, which is “ZEAL.” See an example of this in Apostle Paul’s testimony in Galatians 1:13-14:
“For you have heard of my conversation in time past in the Jews’ religion, how that beyond measure I persecuted the church of God, and wasted it: And profited in the Jews’ religion above many my equals in my own nation, being more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my fathers.”
While zeal, or passion, is an important factor in prayer, it alone cannot stand without EARNESTNESS, as we can see in the scriptures above. In that testimony, Apostle Paul was zealous for God, but in the wrong way. So also, prayer without earnestness may be zealously pursued in the wrong way. Passion without earnestness might just be a show of emotion without sincerity.
For instance, some of the Jews were very passionate about having Jesus Christ crucified by Pontius Pilate, but that was because they had not seriously and sincerely searched the Scriptures enough to understand that He was their Messiah. See what Jesus Christ said to some Jews in John 5:38-40.
“And ye have not his word abiding in you: for whom he hath sent, him ye believe not. Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.”
In one sentence we can say that those Jews were zealous, or passionate, about their religion, yet without knowledge of its truths. So it is with anyone whose prayer life is based on ordinary passion without knowledge.
So, what is earnestness?
2. EARNESTNESS: This is the seriousness, sincerity, or intensity with which a person pursues a goal. Knowledge sustains earnestness: having good knowledge of the importance and necessity of prayer makes a person pursue it, not just with zeal or passion, but with the fruits of EARNESTNESS, which are seriousness, sincerity, or intensity. See an example in Luke 22:39-44:
VERSE 44: “And being in an agony he prayed more EARNESTLY: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling to the ground.”
As humans, we are all capable of exhibiting emotions over the things that excite our minds, but without accurate knowledge of what those things are, our emotions could be misdirected and short-lived once we come to terms with our errors somewhere along the way.
For instance: Apostle Paul abandoned his zeal in persecuting the Church when he eventually found out the truth that he was fighting God. See 1 Timothy 1:12-13:
“And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry; Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.”
The same thing will happen to anyone whose prayers are misdirected: they will eventually give up either because God has refused to answer them, or because, in mercy, He has revealed to them that their prayers were wrongly offered.
However, let us consider Jesus Christ’s example of earnestness which was sustained by His perfect knowledge of God’s will for His mission on earth. See Luke 9:51-53:
VERSE 51: “And it came to pass when the time came that he should be received up, he steadfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem.”
Jesus Christ’s seriousness and sincerity to go to Jerusalem and be crucified for the sins of sinful mankind was even apparent to those who were close enough to Him. Apostle Peter took Him aside to rebuke Him (Matthew 16:21-23) while the Samaritans outrightly rejected Him from sleeping in their village (Luke 9:51-53), yet He was undaunted by all that. He still pursued His mission to a conclusion.
This is how God expects a Christian to pursue spiritual matters, of which prayer is an important part.
We shall now consider three important acts of prayer which will give us the much-needed edge over our adversaries (Satan and all his agents) in the place of prayer, and also grant us an open heaven of answered prayer and intimate fellowship with God.
1. PRAYING WITH KNOWLEDGE OF GOD’S WORD:
Psalms 119:105, 130, 133.
“Through thy precepts, I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way.” Psalms 119:104
As we have earlier said, knowledge of God’s will empowers the mind in the place of prayer.
1 John 5:14 plainly says: “And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask anything ACCORDING TO HIS WILL, he heareth us.”
No matter how passionately a person prays over a matter, unless it is according to God’s revealed will in the Holy Bible, it will at best be a vain oratory exercise. A prolonged period of prayer without answers might just be an indication that God’s will is not being met by that prayer.
Before Elijah pronounced the judgment of drought and famine in the land of Israel, he must have considered two important things:
A. First, he must have heard from the LORD God of Israel that this was what must be done; and he did hear! See 1 Kings 17:1-6.
VERSE 1: “And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the LORD God of Israel liveth, BEFORE WHOM I STAND, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.”
We are sure that Elijah heard from God because he said that he was standing in God’s presence when he declared those words.
B. He must have verified that he heard God correctly by making sure what he heard in God’s presence agreed with His revealed Holy Word: and it was! See Deuteronomy 11:16-17:
“Take heed to yourselves, that your heart be not deceived, and ye turn aside, and serve other gods, and worship them; And then the LORD’S wrath be kindled against you, and he shut up the heaven, that there be no rain, and that the land yield not her fruit; and lest ye perish quickly from off the good land which the LORD giveth you.”
So, the utterances of Prophet Elijah were backed by God’s will, whether spoken audibly to him or as supported by God’s written word. In much the same way, our prayers must be supported by God’s word. If we claim that our prayer point is inspired by God’s Holy Spirit, we must do well to verify that it is also supported by His Holy Word, because God CANNOT direct or inspire anyone contrary to His Holy Word.
“To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.” Isaiah 8:20
Some of the advantages of praying according to God’s verified will, by the Holy Bible, are:
A. No opposition of Satan, demons, or mankind can succeed against such prayer. See Matthew 4:1-11; Exodus 9:8-11; Luke 10:1-17.
VERSE 11: “And the magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils; for the boil was upon the magicians, and all the Egyptians.”
B. We shall have confidence in the place of prayer knowing we are ordering our prayers in line with God’s will. 1 John 3:21-22:
“Beloved, if our heart condemns us not, then have we confidence toward God. And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.”
C. We shall be assured of God’s answers even if there seems to be a delay, because we have asked according to His will.
“And the LORD answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarries, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.”
Habakkuk 2:2-3
2. VISUALIZING YOUR PRAYER IN THE SPIRIT FOR MAXIMUM EFFECT.
Genesis 13:14-15; 2 Kings 2:1-15
What a person can see has a profound effect on what they can achieve in life’s endeavours. In other words a person’s vision is vital to the achievement of their set goal.
The same thing applies to a Christian who is praying: if they can visualize their prayers by conjuring up in their mind’s eyes (their spirit) the picture of what they are praying for, or against, and the desired outcome, by actively and vividly following up the action of their prayer in their mind, great will be their achievements in prayer.
“And he said, Thou hast asked a hard thing: nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee; but if not, it shall not be so.”
2 Kings 2:10
From our texts we can see this visualization strategy employed as follows:
A. God brought Abraham outside to “see” so he could have the picture of those things shown to him deeply etched in his memory, thus inspiring hope, which is an essential ingredient to faith that gives us victory in the place of prayer.
Hebrews 11:1 says: “Now faith is the SUBSTANCE of things HOPED for, the evidence of things not seen.”
SUBSTANCE in the context of that scripture stands for what you can see with the eyes of your mind (even when it is not physically before you) until it becomes a reality for you.
B. Elijah tasked Elisha to make sure he could see the moment of his ascension to heaven as a precondition for receiving the answer to his request for a double portion of his anointing.
The above points stress the importance of visualization of one’s object of prayer in order to successfully achieve an effective and effectual prayer life.
3. THE UNBEATABLE STRATEGY OF FOCUSING ON YOUR PRAYER TARGET.
Jeremiah 29:12-14
Verse 13:
“And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.”
Giving full attention and unflinching focus to the things prayed for is vital to answered prayer, as we can see in the verse above. That God makes it a condition for the grant of an answer shows how important it actually is.
See what Proverbs 4:25-27 says.
VERSE 25: “Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee.”
We must know that any form of distraction during prayer can cut off our link to God’s divine presence and thus potentially sever our spiritual bond, which is what secures the victory for us in the place of prayer.
In conclusion, we must understand that while we are in prayer, what we see with the eyes of our mind and what our heart is focused and locked on must agree with what our mouth is praying, because it is a synergy of these three elements of prayer that makes prayer both effective and effectual.
THE END.