Samuel D. High
sdhigh@aristotle.net
-----Original Message-----
From: Apostle Tom <pressingon@hotmail.com>
Sent: Sat, 16 Feb 2008 17:11:50 -0600
To: <pressingon@hotmail.com>
Subject: Morning Manna (Feb. 17); BP: James 5:13-18; RBTTY: Mt. 28; Lev.
February 17 “Powerful, Passionate, Persistent Prayer”
“Confess your faults one to another and pray one for another, that you may be healed. The effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.”
James 5:16
As someone once said, “Effectual prayer is praying like it all depends upon us and trusting like it all depends upon God—which it does.”
“Power with God and men.”
That’s how the angel described Jacob early that morning after they’d wrestled all night and he’d changed Jacob’s name to Israel, which means “Prince of God” (Gen. 32:28). Although his given name meant “Supplanter” or “Deceiver,” this name-change was/is significant—and we must remember it came only after Jacob said, “I’ll not let you go except you bless me!” (v.26).
Dear Pilgrim, could it be that one of the main reasons our prayer lives are paltry and powerless is because we quit praying too soon or are not serious in our request? Could it be that purposeful, “passionate persistence” is what James had in mind when he wrote “The effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much”?
Very likely.
The Greek word “energeo” is used for the words “effectual, fervent” and also means “to be active, efficient, be mighty in, work effectively in, powerful, etc.” Thus, this type of praying is much more than a simple, bedtime prayer of “Now I lay me down to sleep” or “God is great, God is good. Thank you, Lord, for this my food.”
While those prayers, when prayed by a child, are precious and sincerely simplistic, “effectual, fervent prayer” is much more “militant” in nature. It’s not our “storming the gates of Heaven” in an attempt to get the Heavenly Father to change His mind; however, it is waging war on the forces of darkness and saying like Jacob, “Lord, I’ll not rest until you bless me with _________ or __________ or __________.”
Likewise, it’s no accident that James included the words “Confess your faults one to another and pray one for another, that you may be healed” before calling us to “effectual, fervent prayer.” Why is that? Simply because honest, candid confession or sharing of our sins and shortcomings with another Christian confidante is vitally important to effective intercession and supplication.
And, even though it’s true “There’s none righteous, no not one” (Rom. 3:10), we must remember it’s Christ’s righteousness—not ours—that enables us to “come boldly unto the Throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (II Cor. 5:21; Phil. 3:9; Heb. 4:16). Hallelujah!!
Sometimes we feel so inept, inferior and inadequate when it comes to praying—and, in our own strength, we are. However, like Elijah—“a man who was subject to the same passions we are, but prayed EARNESTLY that it might not rain and it didn’t for 3 ½ years and then prayed again and the rain returned” (James 5:17-18)—we, too, can see results when we pray purposefully, passionately and persistently in faith.
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