Earnest Prayer
PRAYER SCRIPTURE
James 5:16b, Amplified Bible
The earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power
available [dynamic in its working].
PRAYER TEACHING
What is an earnest prayer? How does it differ from a prayer that is not earnest? Who is
righteous? What kind of power are we talking about?
A righteous person is one who is right with God, doing things God’s way and thinking
God’s way. He is not a perfect person. He makes mistakes, but He knows that God
helps him to stay on the right path and do the right things. If he slips, God is there to get
him back on track. That is what we call grace. Grace is God’s ability released on your
behalf to do what you can’t do in your own ability, no matter how hard you try..
An earnest prayer is one which is from your heart. You really mean what you are
praying. You expect something to happen as a result of your prayer. When you say
that you are in earnest about something, it means you are serious about it. Your mind is
focused and straight on the target, with the intention of hitting the bull’s eye.
This word power here is the word “avail” in the King James Version of the Bible.
It means to have or exercise force. There are many definitions of force but in
this instance, force is that which is capable of producing results. It is literally the
word “strength,” energy which produces action or motion. God’s energy is called power.
His power is the greatest power in the universe. That, my dear reader, is the power we
have available to us when we pray. It is God’s power which is working.
That’s why you can get excited about prayer. It is not dull or boring, but packed with the
punch of the power of God.
PRAYER QUOTE
MY PRAYERS ARE POWERFUL!