James 5:16 says, “…The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”
Effectual? The active, efficient, achieving maximum productivity with minimum wasted effort or expense – type of prayer.
Fervent? The passionate prayer prayed with energy and enthusiasm.
The World English Bible translates it to, “…The insistent prayer of a righteous person is powerfully effective.”
With so much going on today, we need to remember the power of prayer.
On February 20, 1990, rapper MC Hammer released a smash hit album titled: “Please Hammer Don’t Hurt’Em.” One of the hits of the album was a song titled: “Pray.” At that time, the world was either praying or singing about praying.
But why pray? I am glad you asked.
Prayer is mostly thought of as asking and receiving; however, prayer is that and much more!
To me prayer is a way to win the battle with nothing in hand. Who remembers Elijah, the prophet of God? He told King Ahab that God would keep it from raining to punish Ahab for praying to idols. Ahab still disobeyed God, and finally Elijah and Ahab agreed that each of them would build an altar. After each built an alter and prayed, whichever altar was consumed by fire was the altar of the true God. Elijah won this battle with nothing in hand.
Prayer is also a privilege. It is an opportunity to commune with God. Think about it like this, if you had the opportunity to talk to anyone, who would you choose to talk to? Some of you would choose to have a conversation with a celebrity who may or may not want to talk with you. However, our heavenly Father longs to commune with us and He has the power to move the heavens and the earth.
Yes, we can bring our petitions to Him, and we must remember to do so in faith.
Faith is essential to prayer! Mark 11:24 says, “…whatsoever things ye desire, when you pray, believe, that you receive them, and you shall have them.”
The Bible tells us that faith and prayer can move a mountain. Well, we currently have many mountains before us that most of us would like to see removed.
More things have been accomplished here on earth through prayer than any other religious activity. Therefore, as we face the many trials of today, let us faint not, and remember that there is extreme power in prayer!
God bless you,
Pastor Cooper
– Adrian is a life-long Waxahachie native. He is the pastor of Waxahachie Life Church and the owner of Future Generations Christian Child Care Center. He is passionate about the youth in our communities, and believes that investing in them is investing in the future. He and his wife, Marquita are raising 4 handsome boys.
