POWERFUL, EFFECTIVE PRAYING

 

POWERFUL, EFFECTIVE PRAYING

James 4:13-16 Are any among you suffering? They should keep on praying about it. And those who have reason to be thankful should continually sing praises to the Lord. Are any among you sick? They should call for the elders of the church and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord. And their prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make them well. And anyone who has committed sin will be forgiven. Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and wondrous results. NLT

      One thing that seems to be very clear in the Scriptures is that we should never give up praying. James stresses that point here when he talks about praying for the sick. So often, we fail to move the hand of God to act in response to our prayers because we give up too easily in our praying. Jesus instructs us to keep on praying. We are to be persistent in our praying. Sometimes the prayers we lift up to God are immediately answered and sometimes the answers take a lot of time. Praying is faith in action. It is believing that God hears our prayers, has a desire to answer them, and then will do it if we pray with hearts in tune with His.

     The prayers of a thankful heart swell up into songs of praise to the Lord. They are centered on Christ and submissive to His will. The Lord promises that He will bring healing to the body and soul when we pray. We may not recognize exactly how our prayers are answered, but answered they are. We often fail to trust the Lord in this simply because we don't see the workings of the Spirit through His eyes. We give up praying because we lose confidence in our praying power. We want what we want and forget that what we want may not be what God wants to give. He knows how best to respond to our praying.

      Powerful and effective are the prayers of the saints. It is true not because I say so, but because God says so. The rewards are great for those who earnestly seek God, submit to His will, and trust Him to work all things out according to His will and plan for our lives.

       Don’t get the idea that because God doesn’t answer your prayers the way you want Him to that He doesn’t answer them.  God knows best what we need and moves in response to our needs and not necessarily our wants.

       Also, don’t think that because God doesn’t immediately answer your prayers that He is not hearing and answering them.  He knows what needs to be done, when it needs to be done, and how it needs to be done.  Keep on praying and trust Him.  He answers the prayers of those who wait on Him with faith believing.

      Come on out from among them today and be a prayer warrior. Wait on the Lord and see what great things He will do.