James 5:16b – “…the prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective.”
If the above statement by James is true, why don’t we pray more? I believe there are several reasons.
We don’t see immediate results. Prayer is an invisible discipline. We are praying to Someone we don’t see and it takes faith to pray and believe. We don’t really believe in the power of prayer. As humans we are rather consistent in taking matters into our own hands.
We don’t perceive the enemy’s tactics in distracting us from prayer. Satan understands far more than we do the damage we can inflict in our praying.
Our verse today suggests there is a specific type of prayer that yields “Elijah” results (read James 5:17,18). The New King James Version calls it an “effective fervent” prayer. The Greek word for “effective” is where we get our English word “energy.” An effective prayer is one that is full of energy. Where does that energy come from? The Holy Spirit and faith. The word “fervent” means “hot, boiling.” That is a prayer of passion and intensity.
Make sure your prayers reach the “effective fervent” level on the prayer meter. You will be amazed at the results.