Introduction 

This is part 2 of what I have decided will actually be a three-part blog study on that of effective prayer. My intention has been to look at what I consider to be the three most important facets of effective prayer: praying in the Spirit, fervency, and righteousness. In my last blog post we looked at the first of these.

If you have not read part 1 of this study I would encourage you to do so before moving onto this post. In part 1 we learned that praying in the Spirit, means that you are praying in accordance to the Spirit’s guidance, and will. You are praying prayers that are in line with God’s purpose and plan for your life, and are not simply based upon your own selfish ambitions. In order to pray in the Spirit, one must first be filled with the Spirit. In order to be filled with the Spirit, one must be willing to free up as much space in their life for the Spirit to enter in; you will be truly living a life that is dominated by the Spirit’s work.

I made the decision to cover praying in the Spirit first, since these other three facets of effective prayer—faith, fervency, and righteousness, — will naturally flow out of Spirit filled prayer. The main passage that covers both of these facets is James 5:13-18. Here the apostle James provides instruction on how the church is to care for those who are experiencing sickness/illness. One who is sick must call upon the elders of the church, for prayer and the anointing of oil (Jms. 5:14). After laying this out, James writes,

“And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective” (Jms. 5:15-16).

Two points in this passage, will receive our attention for this blog study on prayer. In part 3 we will look at the words on righteousness in the second portion of this passage. But right now in this post, we will focus on the words, “the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well” (v. 15a).

Fervent Prayer

It is imperative that we have a good understanding of the term here, “faith.” This is a word that is found throughout the New Testament, but it does not always mean the same thing in every usage. “Faith” comes from the Greek, pistis and there are a variety of ways in which it is used in the NT.

Common it is for pistis to be used when describing the doctrine and or dogma that the church adheres to. For instance, in 1 Cor. 16:13 Paul tells his readers to be on their guard, and, “stand firm in the faith.” The apostle is undoubtably referring to the teachings that they have received and hold as inspired by the Holy Spirit. Another example is Acts 13:8, where we read of Elymas the sorcerer who opposed Barnabas and Paul trying to, “turn the proconsul from the faith.” Again, here the term, “faith” (pistis), is being used in reference to the doctrine and or whole counsel of God (Ac. 20:27), that the believers were to abide in.

There is of course another primary way in which pistis is used in the pages of the NT, and that is to connote the act of believing something. A common example of this would simply be having faith in God. For instance, the apostle Peter reminds his readers that, “Through him you believed in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God” (1 Pet. 1:21). One other Scripture would be 1 Thess. 1:8, where we read, “… your faith in God has become known everywhere.” Some passages that utilize pistis in this sense of believing something, are intended to imply a very intense and firm belief that a person is demonstrating. Paul seems to correlate this type of faith, with the spiritual gift of faith. One place where he mentions this gift is in 1 Cor. 13:2, where he writes:

“If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.”

Paul’s describing of the gift of faith as a, “faith that can move mountains,” is no doubt in reference to Jesus’ words when He told His disciples,

“Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them” (Mk. 11:23).

Now not everyone has the spiritual gift of faith. Evidently, this is a gift that some have been blessed with, and my assumption is that these believers are each and every day exemplifying an unwavering faith that indeed sees incredible results in their lives and Christian walk. However, I still believe that even Christians who have not been blessed with the gift of faith, are able to at times demonstrate the type of fervent faith that can break down barriers and overcome insurmountable odds.

Paul certainly cited Jesus’ words when describing the gift of faith, however that still does not mean what Jesus says in Mk. 11:23 can only be applied to those who have been blessed with the gift of faith. Notice how in this verse, Jesus says that if, “anyone,” declares to the mountain to be removed it will be done. He does not say, “only those who the gift of faith,” but rather He opens it to any believer who demonstrates earnest faith.

Consider Jesus’ admonition for his followers to not “doubt,” when they offer up prayer to God. James in the first chapter of his epistle, speaks of his readers praying for God to grant them wisdom. He adds a stipulation to this that lines up with Jesus’ words, as he states, “ But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind” (Jms. 1:6). Four chapters later, James then speaks of the prayer offered in faith and how it can accomplish significant feats.  Bible students have suggested that a better way of translating this verse is, “the fervent request offered in faith…” (Nystrom, 1997, 306).

Again, I mentioned at the start of this article that “fervency,” is one of the bullet points of effective prayer that we are examining here. Debate can perhaps ensue over what exactly fervency is in relation to prayer, but based upon what we have studies thus far in the James passage– and what we will see later concerning what James says of Elijah—I will say that fervency in relation to prayer is twofold: 1) it is an intense focused prayer where your mindset and thought process is completely on God and His purposes when you are praying, and 2) it involves a strong faith that God can provide what you are praying for (see Nystrom, 306). Now back to the James passage…

A very important thing to point out is that James’ description of, “the sick person,” is undoubtably at least partially in reference to one who is physically ill. We need to stop and really ponder the implications of what this is telling us. Prayer that is offered up in faith has the actually power and ability to alter was is happening in the physical, visible, material realm that we all live in. It is a way of us calling upon the divine, supernatural realm, to force its way into the physical plain that we live on day by day, and change our situation. But again, we have stipulations here. The prayer must be offered in “faith”— the type of faith that does not doubt or waver, but rather it is an intense faith— one that involves being convinced that if it coincides with God’s will, it will indeed be granted.

And that needs to be kept in mind, as we continue forward in this blog post. Jesus’ words in Mk. 11, were not meant to tell us that we can command God what to do, or that every single prayer request we lift up to Him will be granted as long as we demonstrate an impassioned faith. What we are praying for must coincide with His will for it to be granted. And there are indeed many blessings that God desires for His children to have, but many of them will be missing out on enjoying and experiencing them in this life, because they have failed to ask Him for them. Jesus said:

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened” (Matt. 7:7-8).

James also echoed this sentiment:

^“You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God.  When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures” (Jms. 4:2-3).

Now James does not simply stop at 5:16 when touching on effective prayer. He goes on to provide an illustration from the Scriptures. Referencing a story found in 1 Kings 17-18, James mentions that of Elijah who, “was a human being even as we are” (5:17). Emphasizing Elijah’s humanity in this way, is meant to encourage James’ readers in that they do not have to have a special anointing, office, or supernatural ability, in order to access the power of prayer.

James reminds his readers of the OT account where Elijah declared to King Ahab that by his word there would be neither dew nor rain in Israel for the next few years (1 Kgs. 17:1). James writes that during this time, Elijah, “prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years” (5:17b).

Interestingly, we do not get an actual account in this narrative of Elijah praying to the Lord for the rain to cease (or for it to come down three years later). However, Bible students note that whatever prayer he offered up to God, it probably was similar to one that we see him utter in 1 Kgs. 18:37 when he was facing the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel—

“Answer me, Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you, Lord, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again” (1 Kgs. 18:37).

Kurt A. Richardson notes, “The repetition in this prayer expresses the earnestness of the prophet, along with his absolute confidence in the purposes of God for wayward Israel” (Richardson, 1997, 240).

Earnestness and fervency are essentially the same thing. They involve an intense form of praying— one that expresses a complete dependance and reliance upon the Lord. When Herod threw Peter in prison after putting James to death, we read that the church, “was earnestly praying to God for him” (Ac. 12:5). We see shortly afterwards that Peter was supernaturally released from the prison doors, and the believers who were praying for him, did not even believe it at first, when they were told that Peter had been supernaturally freed (Ac. 12:13-16). Such is a testament to how we can often forget the power that such prayer can bring forth.

This type of praying I believe can come in different forms. For instance, fervent praying can come in the form of dedicating two hours out of your day, to praying in your bedroom with your hands and knees completely on the ground the entire time in an intense form of surrender to God. It can also come in the form of prayer that is accompanied by fasting. All this is an outward demonstration of an inward surrender, faith, and reliance upon God

Conclusion 

When was the last time you got down on the ground and prayed intensely to your heavenly Father about a particular pressing issue in your life? When was the last time when you fasted—at least for most of a day? When was the last time you went into your bedroom and dedicated a whole hour or two to praying for a particular situation that is pressing over your life? This is the type of earnestness that is called for by James in his epistle.

In my Christian walk, I have met people with incredible testimonies of the Lord answering prayer after they demonstrated fervent prayer. Within my own life I have experienced such on multiple occasions. There have been times of danger, where I went to the Lord in fervent prayer and He completely forced His hand in, and reversed the situation I was up against. I have also experienced actual physical healing from God, after going to Him in fervent prayer.

Some time ago, I spent two and a half years struggling with a serious shoulder injury. I spoke with multiple doctors about the issue including a sports specialist out here in Southern California. I went through physical therapy which only helped me partially. After about two years of no significant results, I was feeling like I either had to undergo surgery, or spend the rest of my life in this somewhat handicapped state. Finally, one night I broke down and cried out to God for healing over my shoulders. I fell on the ground in my home and I expressed my entire situation to God, and how I needed His divine hand to touch me.

From then on, I spent week after week, fervently praying for divine healing over my shoulders. In hindsight, I look back at all the time I spent consulting experts, doctors, and the like, and I see that God was waiting for me to simply fall before Him, and rely solely on His divine hand for healing. That is not to say that you should never look to doctors or the medical establishment for help, rather this is simply how the Lord led me in this particular situation. Once I began to cry out to God fervently, with a full faith that He could help my situation, I began to discover at home techniques and remedies that would help my shoulder. Five years later, my shoulders are better and stronger than they have ever been, and I am an avid weightlifter.

(I look back and see that such was a moment in my life where the Lord really began to show me the power of fervent prayer. But there are countless other testimonials concerning the effect that fervency has over a person’s prayer life. Fervency is a focused, intense, faith saturated type of prayer, that we should be lifting up to God when times get tough. I believe that sometimes God will even allow us to experience certain hardships in order that we do cry out to Him fervently for His help.

In Judges 20 we read of the tribes of Israel, forming a coalition with each other, to fight against the Benjamites. On the first two occasions that they went up against the Benjamites they were cut down and utterly defeated. On the eve of their third attempt, the Israelites we read, “sat weeping before the Lord,” and “fasted that day until evening and presented burnt offerings and fellowship offerings to the Lord” (Judg. 20:26). It was then when the Lord told them, “Go, for tomorrow I will give them into your hands” (20:28).

Troublesome times are indeed when we are clinging to God the most—but it of course should not be this way; our drive and zeal for God should be constant and not just during the stormy seasons.

So when was the last time you went to the Lord in this type of passionate and serious way? Have you considered that maybe God has allowed you to experience a difficult trial because is waiting for you to demonstrate this type of faith saturated prayer? This might be your moment of breakthrough. In my next post, I will touch on the final facet of this three point blueprint for prayer, which is righteousness.

Bibliography:

Nystrom, David P. James: from biblical text… to contemporary life. Terry Muck, (e.d.), Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1997. 

Richardson, Kurt A., James: An Exegetical and Theological Exposition of Holy Scripture. E Ray Clendenen, (e.d.), Nashville, TN: B&H Publishing Group, 1997.