It is important to understand the formula for praying effectively and how to pray effectively. This article reveals the formula for praying effectively.
The scripture above is a popular verse among believers as it is most often serve as references for teachings on prayer and the power of praying.
The verse reveals that prayer is powerful and it is unrivalled in its ability to make power available of certain criteria are checked. One of the reasons why I love James 5:16 is because it summarizes the basics and shows us the forula for praying effectively.
Praying effectively is not rocket-science. It is the product of meeting certain requirements and maintaining a posture. And James 5:16 gives a formular which guarantees praying effective prayers.
The part of the verse which highlights and contains what this article is centered on is:
...The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." – James 5:16 (Paraphrased)
Amplified puts it this way:
...The heartfelt and persistent prayer of a righteous man (believer) is able to accomplish much."
From the scripture, the formula for praying effectively is
Effectual fervent prayer + Righteousness
Hence if you must pray effectively, you must pray with fervency while maintaining a posture of right-standing with God. In the preceding lines of this article, I would explain the two variables in the formula for praying effectively.
Effectual Fervent Prayer:
The phrase effectual fervent is actually old English but as we see in the Amplified it refers to heartfelt and persistent. Prayer is powerful if and only if it is carried out consistently.
The dividends of prayer enterprises are not often seen the moment we kneel to pray. Some take a large investment of prayer before results can be produced.
In my article on Why Prayers Seem Not To Be Yielding Results, I wrote that prayers is not something you start doing now and find worthy effect. Effects and impacts from prayers stems from a stream of investments in the form of prayer time.
Dear reader, prayer is not a fire brigade activity. It is an investment. An investment into the store room of heaven so that when it get to the overflowing point God is compelled to act.
I hope you know prayers can be stored? Like money being stored in a bank?
See Revelation chapter Five (5) verse Eight (8):
“And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints."
John the Revelator showed us in the scripture above that prayers can be stored. There are golden vials in heaven which are used to store up the prayers of the saints.
Until a vial gets filled up with odors which are prayers, overflows and saturates God's temple, God will not act on that issue. God would be handicapped to act over an issue until the vial for that issue is filled up. What fills up the vial is heartfelt and persistent prayers.
Part-time prayer is not and can not be effective. Believers who see prayer as a means of solving emergencies only can never experience the powerful nature of prayer. Prayer was designed to be a lifestyle not something that is done when one feels like (Luke 18:1).
In 1 Kings chapter 18:41-43, the Prophet Elijah told King Ahab that there is a sound of abundance of rain. After his announcement, he went up to the Mountain and began to pray, casting himself down upon the earth and putting his face between his knees, he prayed earnestly.
Elijah told his servant to go check the sky. The servant returned and said there was nothing. Elijah swinged back into praying again. He sent the servant again and he brought back the same answer.
For the average believer, at this point discouragement will set in and that would be the end of prayers and praying. But Elijah pressed on and kept praying until he sent the servant to check the seventh time and the response changed.
The unfavorable responses of Elijah's servant did not deter him from praying persistently.
Note this: Persistence is the pre-ordained nature and form of prayer.
Prayer was not designed to be done as a part-time activity but as a culture, a way of life. It must be carried out as often as we breathe.
2. Righteousness
A major hindrance to prayers is unrighteousness.
What is unrighteousness?
For the sake of this article, I would define unrighteousness using the book of 1 John 5:17 which says All unrighteousness is sin... That is, sin is unrighteousness.
The formula for praying effectively as given in James 5:16 is only compete when one prays consistently and persistently while maintaining a posture of righteousness.
Sin makes prayer invalid, ineffective, and weak. No one living in sin can receive from God as God is too holy to behold iniquity let alone respond to the prayers of sinners.
Proverbs 15:8 says that "The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD: but the prayer of the upright is His delight".
Also in verse 29
"The LORD is far from the wicked: but he heareth the prayer of the righteous"
The prayer that will get answers from God is the prayer prayed by a righteous and upright person. A sinner can not receive answers from God as he/she has no access to God because sin creates a bridge between God and him/her which hinders answers to prayers.
Behold, the LORD'S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear:
But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear. – Isaiah 59:1-2
Sin makes God handicapped to respond to your call. It creates a barrier, a barrier that hinders your prayers from receiving answers from His throne.
Our God is a holy God and He can not interact with sin. So if you must engage God in prayers, you must live a life of holiness, fleeing from every form of unrighteousness.
God does not desire to excommunicate anyone. He says in Isaiah 1:18
“Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.”
Come to Jesus today and be cleansed from your sins. Resolve never to go back to them and see how intimate you would become with God.
If you want your prayers to start being effective you must:
- Pray persistently and not part-time and
- Live a life free from sin
With this formula you can never go wrong in your prayer enterprise. Your prayer walk will enjoy more and more effectiveness from today.
Before you go, share your comments with me. I do love to hear from you. Thanks!
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