No request is too great and no detail is too small for our Lord.
What weapon does a believer wield that is more powerful than prayer? Yet, somehow we tend to overlook prayer’s potency. We treat it as our last option, when in reality it should be our first. We say, “There is nothing we can do now but pray.” Maybe, if we started with prayer and prayed throughout any ordeal, it would not be so rough.
James gives us a concise set of conditions for effective individual prayer. He says, “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much” (5:16). Let’s take a look at three simple conditions he lays out in this verse that can aid us in our prayer lives.
Effective
Do you want to have an effective prayer life? First off, it has to be in line with God’s will. God isn’t some sort of machine where we put our prayer in and the blessing comes out. Prayer is relational. It is our communication with God. Nobody likes one-sided conversations. So if our prayer consists solely of telling God what we want, we are like the people we meet who only talk about themselves. That is not much of a relationship. We must allow God to speak to us through His Word and by His Spirit. In this we align ourselves with His will and seek His blessing and His glory.
In chapter 4, James points out why the petitions of the believers were not being answered. He says, “…yet ye have not, because ye ask not. Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts. Ye adulterers and adulteresses know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God” (vv.?4-5).
Why would God want to answer the request of someone who is seeking their own satisfaction and who is fraternizing with the enemy? Our fellowship with God is marred and so our prayers are hindered. But, as always, our Lord doesn’t simply condemn them and leave them hopeless. He goes on to say, “But He giveth more grace. Wherefore He saith, ‘God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.’ Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He shall lift you up” (vv.?6-10).
He wants us to draw closer to Him. As we do, His desires become our desires. Our selfishness fades. We don’t ask for things that are contrary to His plan. This is the key to effectiveness in prayer: seeking His will.
Fervent
This is the main focus of the phrase. Fervent prayer doesn’t necessarily mean long prayer. The Greek word has the same root as the word energetic. This tells us that when we come to the Lord in prayer we should be passionate.
Once we have aligned our will with His, we become zealous about His desires. Has the Lord laid some burden on you, some desire? Maybe it is a neighbor or co-worker that needs to hear the Gospel. Maybe it is an outreach He wants you to start. Whatever it is, you should come to Him and energetically ask Him for His help.
No request is too great and no detail is too small for our Lord. He wants to see His children excited about doing His will. That is when we can pray with confidence: He has moved us to do His will and we know He will provide the means by which to carry it out. What can be more motivating than that?
Righteous
This should go without saying. The word righteous literally means innocent. Obviously it is not with our own righteousness that we can bring our prayers to God. Thankfully, we can “come boldly to the throne of grace” because of what Christ has done, because of His righteousness. It is only through Christ that we can have a relationship with God. If there is no relationship, there is no righteousness, and there can be no effective prayer.
By the same token, sin in our life affects our relationship with God and hinders our prayers. “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me” (Ps. 66:18). It is not until we are back in fellowship with the Lord that we can once again be effective in our prayers.
Exhibit A: Elijah?Have you ever wondered, “What can I do? I’m just one person.” If so, James goes on to show us what God can do through one person who prays. He could have picked any number of examples throughout Scripture, but he chose the example of Elijah to show what can happen when a man prays effectively.
James 5:17,?18 says, “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.”
To me, the most significant thing about this verse is the first part of verse 17. The NIV renders it, “Elijah was a man just like us.” What an encouragement! There was nothing extraordinary about Elijah other than that he had faith in God, wanted God’s will, and prayed.
It shows us what God can do through us if we will align ourselves with His will, pray energetically, and keep our relationship right with Him.
Let’s pray!
It is not until we are back in fellowship with the Lord that we can once again be effective in our prayers.