Effective and Fervent Prayer
By Pastor James May
James 5:16b, "… The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much."
Prayer is a vital part of the life of a Christian. Through prayer unto the Lord, we voice our needs, we give our praise, we show our worship and we demonstrate our faith. Through prayer we communicate with our Heavenly Father just as would talk to a friend, or to our earthly father. Through the combination of prayer and faith we can see mountains of difficulties and obstacles moved. Through prayer and faith our relationship with Jesus Christ is built day-by-day and prayer by prayer into a relationship of trust and love that will last for eternity. Through prayer we can change the course of history, see God move in the hearts and minds of men and women and; through prayer we can know the will of God and even have a profound impact upon what God does in our own lives. There is much truth to that simple statement that says so much, “Prayer Changes Things’.
One Sunday evening, at a church in Kentucky, the congregation tried to concentrate on the sermon coming from the pulpit as the father of a very noisy little boy was carried out of the church toward an evitable lesson on behavior while in the House of God. Everyone tried to ignore the whole scene but a prayer request came forth that simply could not be ignored. As they reached the doorway to the outside, the little boy looked quickly around the auditorium and with once last great fervent prayer request he said, "Ya’ll please pray for me right now!"
If we could learn to pray with the fervency and urgency of the prayer that this little boy needed right then, there’s no limit to what could be accomplished through the Lord’s help.
When Paul and Silas prayed in the prison at midnight, God heard their prayer and set them free. Someone has said that it was the angel that fetched Paul and Silas out of prison, but it was the prayers of the church that fetched the angel out of Heaven at the Lord’s command.
I can tell you that prayer works. I never cease to ask God’s guidance when preparing a message. And I always seek His will in dealing with the matters of this church. And I always ask God to help me to be the kind of Pastor that this church needs to carry out its mission in this world. I can also say that I never go anywhere without seeking the protection of God.
When we were ready to leave last week for our trip up to Colorado we stopped for a moment and asked God for His protection and blessings on our journey. When I got up to the very northwestern corner of Texas and New Mexico, I was certainly glad that I did. I’ve never driven much in ice and snow but we had our “Baptism of Fire”, or should I say, “Baptism of Snow” as we approached the mountains.
The Lord was with us though as we caught up with three snow plows that were clearing the roads and laying down sand for traction on the ice and we followed them for about 20 miles or so. It didn’t bother me one bit that they were traveling slow. On icy roads there’s no better place to be than the first car in line behind the plows. Then, as we approached the mountain pass, the snow became much heavier and the ice much thicker. The roads were slippery and dangerous. There were a number of times when I could feel the truck slipping, sliding and fishtailing on the ice, but it would always grab traction and then straighten up.
I was concerned mostly about negotiating those high mountain roads under those conditions, but then the Lord sent us an angel to lead the way. It was an angel in the form of a 18-wheeler truck driver who obviously had been there before. We were number 2 in line behind him as he plowed the road, broke the ice and gave us a fairly solid track to ride in. None of us normally like to follow behind those slow-moving big rigs on the highway, but under those conditions he was a welcomed sight and made our trip a lot less stressful because it was nearly a white out and I couldn’t tell where the road was. You could see the mountain on one side and nothing but a part of the guard rails on the other side. The snow and clouds were so thick that you could not see how far the drop off was on the outside and maybe that was a blessing in disguise as well.
I wasn’t praying in tongues, except when the truck started slipping around and fishtailing; and I wasn’t praying out loud; but you can believe that there was some effectual fervent praying going on in my mind, and I could sense it coming from the passenger side and the back seat as well. There was no doubt, as we finally came down that last grade off of the mountain to an easier trail, that the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much!
Paul tells us in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 to, "Pray without ceasing." Of course we know that there are all kinds of prayer; but let me just sum it up in three categories. There’s prayers of asking, prayers of giving thanks and prayers of repentance. We will find ourselves saying these prayers all of the time. I believe that a Christian, someone who really loves God, will always have a prayer on their lips wherever they go.
As they travel down the highway, God brings thoughts of people to their minds that are in need of prayer. The Holy Spirit will impress upon us the need to pray for certain things and for needs in our lives. We often get into a Spirit of Prayer, kind of “lost in the Spirit” as we drive down the highway giving Him praise and meditating upon His Word. You can’t pass by a handicapped person without whispering a prayer for them. You can’t pass by a homeless person without whispering a prayer and wishing you could do something to help them. You can’t visit the sick without praying for them. I believe that if you truly love God and love your fellowman that you can’t help but “pray without ceasing”.
Then there are times when you just have to get alone with God in your secret closet of prayer, wherever that might be. Your “closet of prayer” may be by your bedside in the wee hours of the morning, on behind the wheel of your car on the way to work, or walking around outside as you talk to the Lord. It may be standing up, sitting down, lying down or on your knees at a makeshift altar. Wherever and however you pray, sometimes you just have to get down to the nitty-gritty work of prayer, where nothing else matters but you and the Lord.
Sometimes when you are truly burdened or feel an urgency in your prayer, there comes a time that you just don’t know what to say, or how to say it. Those are the times when a Holy Ghost filled Christian will begin to “pray in the Spirit”.
Ephesians 6:18-19, "Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel,"
Here we see that Paul is saying that we should always pray in the Spirit. Is it possible to pray in the Spirit without speaking in tongues? Of course it is. Consider this – every time a preacher steps into the pulpit he/she should be anointed to preach in the Spirit. What if that preacher only preaches in tongues? What good would that do for the edification of the church? Will they get anything out of it? Will it be anointed? Yes, but only God will know what has been said. In addition to that, just how much of the “sermon in tongues” was really given through the unction of the Holy Ghost? I dare say that much of the “tongues” that would come forth would not be “spiritual tongues” at all, but more like a gibberish from the lips of a preacher who is trying to appear more spiritual than he/she really is.
God never intends for us to go around speaking in tongues at the drop of a hat, and I do not believe that a Christian can turn the gifts of speaking in tongues on or off like flipping a light switch. That’s not true tongues either.
If you will remember in our studies of the Gifts of the Spirit we spoke about the Gift of Tongues and Interpretation of Tongues. Now even though this doesn’t specifically speak of praying in tongues, it still has some bearing.
1 Corinthians 12:11 says, "But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will." In other words, God gives tongues to those who He wills at specific times for specific reasons. Tongues are not there, always waiting like the water in your faucet, to be turned on as you need them. They are there as God desires to use them in you for His purposes in your life and your willingness to allow those tongues to be manifested in your prayer time then acts as a faucet to allow the Spirit to speak through you as He wills. You can stop the tongues or start the tongues when the Holy Ghost is trying to pray through you, but if He isn’t giving you the unction to pray in tongues, then you can’t start and stop them without His unction. Many people try to work up the tongues, or begin to jabber, hoping to make the tongues come, but it just doesn’t work that way.
Recently I was asked a question concerning prayer. The question was this; “Should a Christian always, or only, pray in tongues?”
First let me say that “praying in tongues” is a very real and important part of the Christian’s prayer life. I do not want to underestimate its power, influence and presence in your prayer life. But there are some things about “praying in tongues” that I think we all need to understand.
When Paul says that we should always pray in the Spirit, that doesn’t mean that we should always pray in tongues. You can pray in the spirit silently, or in your native language, and be effective in your prayer life. In fact, when you pray in your own language, your prayers are more edifying to your own faith, and aid in strengthening your relationship with the Lord, probably as much, if not more than when you pray in tongues.
In the 14th Chapter of 1 Corinthians, Paul addresses this issue of praying in the spirit and praying in the natural. I think it would be good for us to examine what Paul has to say.
1 Corinthians 14:14, "For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is unfruitful."
Here is where your faith and relationship with the Lord are most affected in prayer. If I know what I am praying and I see the answer come to that pray, does that not build my faith more than receiving an answer to a prayer that was prayed in tongues where I do not know what I even prayed for? Can I not then recognize the miracle working, prayer answering hand of God in a greater fashion?
Paul tells us in Ephesians 1:18 that God wants us to understand what He is doing, "The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints," When you pray in your own language, you understand your own prayers, you know what you are asking for, what you are thanking God for or how you are trying to worship Him, or what you are repenting of. But when you are praying in tongues, you know none of these things. Therefore your understanding is not enlightened even though God is definitely speaking through you.
It is good to pray in your own language, and it is imperative that we do so in public prayers where others are joining us and desire to hear those prayers. Prayers in your natural language are far more effective in touching the heart and life of other people than prayers in tongues.
Look at Paul’s explanation in 1 Corinthians Chapter 14.
1 Corinthians 14:2 For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God: for no man understandeth him; howbeit in the spirit he speaketh mysteries.
When you pray in tongues, it is speaking to God only. Praying in tongues is not for other people to hear or understand. The Holy Spirit, through you, is speaking directly to God and by-passing your understanding. You don’t know what He is saying and no one else does either. While this is God’s way of saying what He wants to say; it doesn’t not edify you, nor the church, in any way other than to witness that the Holy Ghost is speaking.
1 Corinthians 14:3 But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort.
By the word “prophesieth” we mean, teaching or exhorting. When you pray in your natural language, you edify, build up, exhort or encourage man, and that term “man” includes yourself. God wants you, and all around you, that are in hearing range of your prayer, to be blessed by what you are praying. Praying in the Spirit can happen in a corporate prayer meeting, but it does nothing to build up those who hear it.
1 Corinthians 14:4 He that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifieth himself; but he that prophesieth edifieth the church.
Sure, praying in tongues builds you up, but if it’s done in the church congregation, or in a family prayer time, it does nothing to build up anyone else.
1 Corinthians 14:5 I would that ye all spake with tongues, but rather that ye prophesied: for greater is he that prophesieth than he that speaketh with tongues, except he interpret, that the church may receive edifying.
Here again, Paul is speaking mostly of corporate prayer times, or public meetings, more than private prayer, but the principles are the same. It’s better to pray in your own understanding and in your own language so that you may grow in faith and in the knowledge that God is answering your prayer than to pray in tongues all the time and never know what you have prayed for or when the answer comes to that prayer.
1 Corinthians 14:9 So likewise ye, except ye utter by the tongue words easy to be understood, how shall it be known what is spoken? for ye shall speak into the air.
As far as your understanding is concerned, when you pray in tongues, it is like speaking into the air and you have no idea what God is saying. But when you pray with your own understanding it is far more edifying to your own spirituality and faith.
That being said, let me say that there is a specific time and purpose for praying in tongues.
Romans 8:26 Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
God knows that we are weak, frail human beings with limited understanding and a very limited ability to communicate with God on His level. How often do we pray and then discover that we just don’t know what to say? We don’t understand every facet of the things that we are praying about and so we just don’t know how to ask, what to ask for or anything. Yet the burden to pray is still there and we feel so helpless at communicating to the Lord what we really want to.
Sometimes we just feel a heavy burden to pray but we don’t know what or who to pray for and this is when praying in tongues comes into the prayer picture. As long as we know what we want to pray for, or what to pray about, or what we are asking for, then we should be praying in our own understanding. It’s only when we have exhausted our own abilities that the Holy Ghost will take over and pray through us, make intercession on our behalf, speaking things in the Spirit that we cannot say within ourselves. Why should the Holy Ghost use tongues to speak those things which we know how to say already? He only speaks when we don’t know how or what to say anymore.
Romans 8:27 And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
Praying in tongues most often comes when we know that there is a need, or that there is something we desire, but we don’t fully understand the will of God in the matter.
In praying for the sick; is it God’s will to heal, or God’s will to take the sick person home to Glory? Do we really know? Too many people assume to know God’s will when they don’t, and it actually makes matters worse or prolongs the illness with more suffering.
Does that sound like lack of faith? No it isn’t. Faith is still at work and God will honor that prayer for so long, but it truly isn’t in the will of God in some instances for the answer to go on for long. God will honor the prayer of faith and perhaps a temporary recovery will come, but eventually God’s will shall be done, and we don’t know and cannot always understand God’s will nor His ways. It is a lack of faith that we don’t get the answer we seek? No, most of the time it’s just a lack of knowing the will of God.
So exactly what is praying in Tongues, or praying in the Spirit and how much of it should be incorporated into our prayer life? Should we always strive to pray in tongues? Should we pray in tongues all the time, or every time we pray?
First of all, praying in the Spirit, or in tongues is a prayer that is uttered through us as a Child of God, but it is not us doing the praying. It is the Holy Spirit praying to God the Father as an intercessor on our behalf. In effect, it is God talking to God in God’s language, leaving our thoughts out of the equation altogether because only God knows what needs to be said, and only God can understand it. Praying in tongues can only come as God gives the utterance because it is He who is actually doing the speaking and not us. If we start it up ourselves and claim that it is of God then we are lying to ourselves and may actually grieve the Holy Spirit through our foolishness.
While it is a wonderful and glorious experience to pray in tongues, that should not be our goal when we begin to pray. We should pray just to communicate and build a relationship with the Lord; seeking his will for our lives; asking for those things which we need; interceding on behalf of others and ourselves; and cleaning our hearts before God. We should just pray, and when God is ready, He will send the tongues. We don’t have to seek after them, neither should we expect them every time we pray. I have prayed in tongues a lot, but I have prayed many more times in my own understanding. Both have their time and purposes.
Like everything else in life, praying in tongues and in our own understanding should have some sort of balance.
If a Christian is filled with the Holy Ghost (and it is literally impossible to pray in tongues without being filled with the Holy Ghost), then there will be times when that prayer language from Heaven will come forth. But there are also many times when God will reveal to us what we need to pray for and give us the ability in our own language to pray what must be prayed.
It will often be determined by what kind of prayer that we pray although there are no set rules for what kind of prayer that will cause the tongues to come forth.
In my opinion, and this is just an opinion, I feel that praying in tongues will come mostly in those time when we are seeking God for a need or for an answer to a great question. It is those prayers that we most often do not truly know what to say, or how to say it. When we have come to the end of our vocabulary; to the end of our own understanding; and all we can do is lay before the Lord and in travailing prayer; that’s when I have seen the Holy Spirit take over and allow me to pray in tongues. I don’t know what He says, and I definitely don’t have the wisdom to fully understand what happens, but when the prayer language in tongues has ceased, there is always a feeling of freedom and relief because you know that God has heard that prayer and that His will is going to be done in the situation.
If you are filled with the Holy Ghost and you are developing your prayer life, don’t be afraid to allow the Holy Ghost to pray through you, but at the same time, don’t try to mimic the language of Heaven. Too many people think that all they have to do is jabber a few words and that constitutes speaking in tongues. Unless the Holy Ghost gives you the language, it isn’t the real thing.
