Prayer That Energizes - Bishop Charles C. Jones
James 5:16,17 Text James 5:16
The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. James 5:16
The Prayer of a righteous man is of great force when energized.
James pictures a level of prayer that is beyond any believer's normal capacity - this prayer is divinely energized by the direct involvement of the Holy Spirit. The Greek word for "fervent" actually does not appear in the original text. It is an amplification of the word for "effectual" which does appear in the Greek text. The Greek word energeo means "effectual, or that which is effective when offered by a righteous person.
So the KJV say's "Effectual Fervent" RSV say's "In Its Working"
Notice that the Apostle James did not say that every prayer of a righteous man is of much avail; no he said the fervent prayer of a righteous man .
When it is "set in operation" by divine agency.
Real prayer is connected in a most intimate manner with the influence of the Holy Spirit, He the Holy Spirit energizes the believer. James here is speaking of the prayer of a righteous man . He particularly points to the prayer life of one of the greatest Prophets in Israels history. The Prophet "Elijah". Elijah was a man who knew how to pray and how to prevail in his prayers.
James 5:17 say's that Elijah was a man of like passions with us, and that he prayed fervently that it might not rain; and it rained not on the earth for 3 years and 6 months. He prayed again; and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.
The background of this incident is found in 1 Kings 17 and 18. Ahab the King and his wife Jezebel , had led Israel away from the Lord and into the worship od Baal. God punished the nation by holding back rain that they needed . For three and one half years, the heavens were as brass and the earth unable to produce the crops so necessary for life. THen Elijah challenged the priests of Baal on Mount Carmel. All day long the priests of Baal cried out to their god, but no answer came. At the time of the evening sacrifice, Elijah repaired the altar and prepared the sacrifice. He prayed just once, and fire came down from heaven to consume the sacrifice. He had proven that Jehovah was the true God. But the nation still needed rain. Elijah went to the top of Carmel and fell down upon the earth, put his face between his knees. And he said to his servant, go up now, look toward the sea. And his servant went up, and looked and he said, there is nothing, and Elijah said, Go Again 7 times. And it came to pass at the 7th time that he said, Behold there ariseth a cloud out of the sea, as small as a man's hand. And he said, Go up, say unto Ahab, make ready thy chariot , and get thee down that the rain stop thee not."
The Characteristic of the prayer of Elijah was his FERVENCY. He prayed fervently.
He used that particular Hebrew idiom - "praying he prayed". In other words when he prayed he got down to business. Remember that the prayer of a righteous man is of great force when energized - not merely when energized by the Holy Spirit, as every effectual prayer must be; its force comes from the energy that the man or woman themselves throws into it.
So goes that saying, No Prayer - No Power; Little Prayer - Little Power; Much Prayer - Much Power!
The prayer of a righteous man is of great influence when he throws his whole energy into it. What Elijah accomplished was not the magical performance of a superhuman being but the act of a man in all regards exactly like ourselves, who simply used prayer as we can likewise use prayer when we pray fervently.
Prayer - earnest and fervent Prayer - is effective; it works!
If you stay in prayer long enough not only will it energize you but:
1. You will receive a commandment from the Lord
2.Hope will be rebirthed again
3. You will be broken
4. You will recapture your motivation.
5. You will recieve new ideas that will be birthed in your spirit.
6. You will be changed
7. You will receive His wisdom
8. You will be stronger
9. You will receive God's complete plan for your life.
10. Your confusion and gloom will disappear.
Elijah's prayer life brought him into direct contact with God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Ghost as well a s the Word. I don't know about you but I don't just want to be saying a prayer and wonder if that is all, I wanna bask, take a bath, get engulfed in this thing called PRAYER! If i do that well then I will know the mind of Christ because I entered into that realm in prayer where it is on a supernatural level. When it comes to prayer we must throw our mind into it which involves our soul since the Soul is the part of man which houses Man's mind,will and emotions. In the Body we have the 5 senses: touch, taste,see, smell and hear. In the Spirit we have the God Conscience,Intuition and Communion.
In Psalms 100 we have a perfect picture of how we should come before God in Worship and Prayer.
The Mosaic tabernacle in the Old Testament Symbolizes the journey of man toward God, detailing to us what man has to do in order to come into the presence of God and be accepted by God. The physical tabernacle was a type and shadow of the spiritual tabernacle, which is the regenerated man or born again believer.
Look at verse 2 If I were to come to the tabernacle the first place i would approach would be the Outer Court " this is where I would Come before His presence with singing" which symbolic of our body.
Look at verse 4 the next place would be the Inner Court " this where I would enter into His gates with Thanksgiving and enter into his courts with praise. which is symbolic of our soul.
Look at verse 4b the next place would be the Holy of Holies "this is where the Shekinah Glory of God dwelled the bible say's be thankful unto Him and bless His name. Which symbolizes our spirit."
When we enter into the presence of God for the purpose of communing with Him, we must first thank and praise God for what He has already done. It doesn't make practical sense to ask God to do something else when we haven't shown our appreciation for what He has provided for us in the past and in the present.
When we put our feelings into our prayers. The most obvious evidence of our prayer is that God will come in and touch us.
PRAYING THROUGH
Maybe you feel that your prayers are not heard, you have a problem you should not struggle with or you do not feel Gods peace or the presence of the Holy Spirit. In such conditions the person goes into prayer and prays through a problem until he/she feels peace, Gods closeness, the presence of the Spirit or get the answer or peace to a specific problem prayed for.
Many of the old time SAINTS, (in the Church of God in Christ ), used to pray through. It involved earnest prayer to God and seeking Him. And as the title suggests it meant praying through or past some spiritual barrier. To be effective in prayer you must be committed to doing what the saints of old called “praying through.” In essence praying through means praying until something happens. You might call it the PUSH method of praying – Pray Until Something Happens.
That “something” does not have to be the actual answer to the prayer and in most cases it is not. But that “something” is invariably the assurance that you have been heard. That assurance is the evidence that you have prayed yourself into to a place of faith. (Hebrews 11;6) There is a release in one’s spirit that comes when you know that God has heard because we know that when He hears us, an answer is on the way. (1 John 5:15)
Isaiah likens earnest prayer and intercession to the travail of labor in giving birth. Praying through is like that. It is hard work and it requires an engagement of ones entire being in bringing forth the desired result.
While there are many different ways to pray, praying through is not a quiet type of praying. It is forceful, loud, emotion filled, heart wrenching type of praying.
Mother Eli]abeth Dabne
In 1925, the Lord told Bishop Charles Harrison Mason to send Elder O.T. Jones to pastor a large mission in Philadelphia. Elder Jones asked if my husband, Elder E.H. Dabney, and I could assist him. Bishop Mason said yes, and told me my job was to pray and write for the church.
One afternoon the Lord called my attention to [a bad] situation in the neighborhood. I asked God if He would give us the victory if I made a covenant with Him to pray. He said He would. God told me to meet Him the next morning at the SchuylkillRiver at 7:30. I went home and asked my husband to take me to Riverside Drive the next morning. ... I was so afraid I would miss the appointment with the Lord that I sat up all night and crocheted. I dared not put my trust or confidence in an alarm clock. We arrived at a place where a tree was bent over the road, and the Lord said: "This is the place."
As I stood [alone] between two large stones, the presence of God overshadowed me, and I acknowledged His presence with tears, and a delighted "Good morning, Jesus." I said:"Lord, if You will bless my husband in the place You sent him to establish Your name, if You will break the bonds and destroy the middle wall of partition, if You will give him a church and congregation²a credit to Your people and allChristendom²I will walk with You for three years in prayer, both day and night. I will meet You every morning at 9 a.m. sharp; You will never have to wait for me; I will be there to greet You. I will stay there all day; I will devote all of my time to You.
"Furthermore, if You will listen to the voice of my supplication and break through in that wicked neighborhood and bless my husband, I will fast 72 hours each week for two years. While I am going through the fast, I will not go home to sleep in my bed. I will stay in church, and if I get sleepy, I'll-rest on newspapers and carpet."
As soon as I had made a covenant, the heavens opened, and the glory of the Lord fell from heaven all around me. I knew He had prepared me to enter into prayer ministry.
At 9 a.m. each day the door knob of the church would turn, and I would greet the Lord with a hearty, "Good morning, Jesus." I would kneel and pray until wore all the skin off my knees on those hard floors. I suffered.
The flesh on my bones was numb, and I fasted, not eating or drinking natural food but I had a direct supply from heaven. Soon the mission was too small to accommodate the people, and my husband requested that I pray for another place nearby. I prayed, and a man who had been in business for 25 years decided to rent us the building. By this time, I realized the Lord was showing me some of His glory, but the people did not understand why I devoted so much time to church. These were not sinners; they professed to love God as I did. They would come to the church and pull and shake me to get me to leave the altar, but I never opened my eyes. The devil put out diabolical propaganda that I was "an old witch" and a "magic book reader."
But when they came and saw my tear-stained face, they repented with tears for allowing the devil to sow evil seeds into their minds. The Lord was so sweet in my soul. He amused me with the Scriptures and supported me with His arms.
Even So Come Lord Jesus!
3/25/2012
