Pray 5-6-2020

PRAY

by Pastor Greg Simon

Pray! Pray fervently. Cry out to God. Fervent prayers tend to arise from within a person with some kind of need. “The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man accomplishes much” (James 5:16b MEV). Listen to the message below to discover more about what makes prayer fervent and effective.

Fervent prayer is heartfelt. Prayer must mean something to us if it is to mean anything to God. Prayer is fervent when the thing you are praying about is something you really care about. We pray earnestly when the thing we are praying about is something that is impacting our lives. The words need not be loud, but the desire should be intense.

Prayer has less to do with the specifics of how we say what we say, and more to do with the One to whom we are saying it. Prayer connects with God’s strength and releases the will of God into situations, causing the invisible to become visible and the intangible to become tangible. What is your need? Fervent prayers arise from within a person with some kind of need. Passionate desire ignites the petitioning cry for God’s help, and exposes the prayer warrior’s insufficiency to meet the need. Fervent prayer is a tool God uses to get you and your family out of the enemy’s grasp. Andrew Murray wrote, “Prayer is the power by which that comes to pass which otherwise would not take place.”

On Mount Carmel, Elijah experienced the explosive results of prayer. His prayer was shorter than the hours-long repetition of the prophets of Baal and less dramatic than tortured cries of those cutting themselves – Yet, Elijah’s prayer unleashed the power of God. We are ordinary people, but we have an extraordinary God. You are I are just as normal as the prophet Elijah “was a man with human frailties, just like all of us, but he prayed and received supernatural answers” (James 5:17 TPT). Prayer is effective, not because of great people who pray, but because of a great God who graciously and dynamically answers His people.

In the late 1800’s, R.A. Torrey declared, “Prayer is the key that unlocks all the storehouses of God’s infinite grace and power. All that God is, and all that God has, is at the disposal of prayer.”

Pray! “When a believing person prays, great things happen” (James 5:16 NCV). Pray because prayer “availeth much” (KJV), “makes tremendous power available [dynamic in its working]” (James 5:16 AMPC), and is “very powerful in its effect” (HCSB). Pray because “things happen because of it” (NIRV).

Don’t be afraid to go to the Lord when you encounter a problem that deeply concerns you. Tell God exactly what you feel, what you’re facing, and what you need Him to do for you. God never tires of hearing your prayer. Invite Him to move and to meet the specific need that you are facing. God never struggles to come up with an interim idea. He already has every answer waiting for our questions, problems, and needs. God is never at a loss for an astonishing means of accomplishing His purposes and overcoming our inadequacy.