Effectual Fervent Prayer
                                (Henry Blackaby & Richard Blackaby)

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

                 God promises all believers that if we live righteously and pray
                 fervently, our prayers will be effective and produce significant
                 results. How do we treat a promise like this! We might argue “ I
                 do pray, and nothing happens!” Our problem is that we do not
                 hold ourselves accountable to the Scripture. God’s Word says
                 that prayer ought to accomplish much. If our prayer life is not
                 accomplishing much, what should we do? If we are praying but
                 seeing no results, should we conclude that this promise is untrue?
                 Should we excuse this Scripture as impractical and unrealistic?
                 Or should we examine ourselves to see if we meet its conditions?

                 James says that fervent prayer avails much. Could it be that we
                 are not as fervent in our praying as we should be?  Fervent prayer
                 means we do not quit easily.  Fervent prayer means we
                 purposefully spend sufficient time in intercession.  Fervent prayer
                 means we cry out to the Father, sometimes in tears, with our
                 heart and with soul.  Fervent prayer comes as the Holy Spirit
                 assists us in praying with groanings too deep for words (Romans
                 8:26).

                 According to James, our righteousness will ensure effective
                 prayer.  God’s standard of righteousness is different from ours, for
                 He looks beyond our actions, even beyond our thoughts, directly
                 to our hearts.  How then should we hold ourselves accountable if
                 our prayers are accomplishing little!  If nothing happens when we
                 pray, the problem is not with God.  The problem is with us, for
                God’s Word is absolutely reliable  If we adhere to what God
                 requires, He will lead us to pray for things that align with His
                 purposes, and God will answer our prayers in a mighty way.

 
 

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                    Yours in Christ,
                     Paul N.F.