FERVENT PRAYER
The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. - James 5:16b NKJV
The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. - James 5:16b NIV
for tremendous power is released through the passionate, heartfelt prayer of a godly believer! - James 5:16b TPT
Fervent: having or displaying a passionate intensity
Syn.: passionate, sincere, heartfelt, enthusiastic, wholehearted, earnest, devout
As believers, we have the privilege and power to move mountains, shift atmospheres, and effect change through our prayers. We cannot take this lightly or neglect our responsibility to pray. Our prayers should be passionate and intentional, not flippant and passive.
A few years ago, I became more intentional with my prayer time in the morning during my drive to work. I had certain places that served as “markers” to pray for different things. One stretch of road right outside of town became my place to pray for my future husband. Another area was marked for praying for my unsaved family. The Lord really impressed on my heart and challenged me to stop just “wishing” for things to happen in my life, and to actually pray.
One morning, as I was praying in the Spirit on my way to work, I had a burden to pray for my local school. I began to pray and declare that any enemy assignment against the schools was canceled in Jesus’ name. Later that day, I found out that a student was apprehended with a loaded gun and a hit list with the plan to also kill themself. The Lord spoke to me firmly “this is why you intercede”.
We have to stop believing the lie that our prayers don’t work or that they aren’t effective. They are! Maybe you’ve not seen answers to your prayers in the past and it has left you doubtful that prayer works. I’ll never pretend to fully understand the answer to every question you may have regarding prayer, but I will stand firm that prayer works and that His ways are so much higher than our own.
It’s time for us to move past weak, powerless prayers and step into a lifestyle of fervent and passionate prayer. My hope is that you realize your prayers are powerful and effective and that you would be ignited to pray with zeal, because we serve a God who is waiting and willing to respond on our behalf.
Prayer Declaration:
My prayer is powerful and effective. I will be a man/woman who prays passionately. I command doubt and double-mindedness to leave my heart. I will pray bold prayers of faith that move mountains, shift atmospheres and effect change. My prayers make a difference and my prayers matter.
Questions
Do you believe that your prayers make a difference?
What prayers has God answered in the past? Remind yourself, because this will build your faith as you pray.
What things do you need to stop “wishing for” and actually start praying for?
