EFFECTUAL FERVENT PRAYERS
James 5:16B-18
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR: Preacher’s Kids often Play Church
1. Johnny’s mother looked out the window and noticed him “playing church” with their cat. The cat was sitting quietly and he was preaching to it. She smiled and went about her work.
2. A while later she heard loud meowing and hissing and ran back to the open window to see Johnny baptizing the cat in a tub of water. She called out, “Johnny, stop that! The cat’s afraid of water!”
3. Johnny looked up at her and said, “He should have thought about that before he joined my church.”
B. TEXT
16 “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. 17 Elijah was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth [for] three years and six months. 18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.” James 5:16B-18
C. THESIS
1. Intercession is a serious/necessary business. Just as we’re competitive to keep up with our competition – in the fields of education & business & in the global marketplace – we also should rise to compete with the spiritual forces which constantly do battle with us.
2. People around the world, with so much less, are diligently obeying the Spirit’s call to intercede. In 2 Cor. 8:8, Paul said, “I want to test the sincerity of your love by comparing it with the earnestness of others.” Let’s ask ourselves; are we doing all we can? Take the challenge!
3. James 5:16-18 is packed with meaning. Listen to these other translations of verse 16:
a. Beck, “A good man [woman] can do much by praying vigorously.”
b. Phillips, “Tremendous power is made available through a good man’s [woman’s] earnest prayer.”
c. Living, “The earnest prayer of a righteous man has great power and wonderful results.”
4. This verse tells us at least 3 things about intercessory prayer: 1). The Kind of Person we must be to pray it (have a Righteous Life), 2). The Kind of Prayer which must be prayed (Effectual Fervent prayer), and 3). The Effect of a persistent, believing prayer (Power).
5. So what made Elijah’s prayers so powerful? They were first...
I. BACKED UP BY A RIGHTEOUS LIFE
A. RIGHTEOUS – but not in the absolute sense
1. When God said that Elijah was a righteous man, it did not mean that he had some intrinsic righteousness of his own, or that he was perfect.
2. Elijah was a man with many faults just like us. He got discouraged, his faith failed him (like when he fled from Jezebel in fear), and sometimes he didn’t do what he was supposed to (“What are you doing here, Elijah?” 1 Kgs. 19:9,13).
3. When James tells us that Elijah was “a man of like passions with us,” James is telling us that Elijah had the same fallen nature and weaknesses we do. Part of James’ reason for telling us this is so we won’t put Elijah on a high pedestal that WE can never live up to.
4. James wants us to know that the same kind of prayers Elijah prayed are within OUR grasp, because the same righteousness available to Elijah is available to us. How’s that?
B. ELIJAH HAD FORGIVENESS/RIGHTEOUSNESS BY FAITH. SO CAN WE!
1. In Ps. 66:18 David said, “If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.” David knew that sin would cut him off from effective prayer. In order for prayer to be heard, we must be forgiven. 1 John 1:9,7 says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness... and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.”
2. Forgiveness is the first step, the second step is for God to confer His righteousness on you. God did this for Abram (Gen. 15:6, “Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness”).
3. Paul tells us that this same state of righteousness is conferred on all who put their faith in Jesus as their Savior and justifier (Rom. 4:23-24, “The words “it was credited to him” were written not for him alone, 24 but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness—for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.”)
4. So the same righteousness that clothed Elijah, to stand and intercede before God, can clothe us. “Christ Jesus...is made unto us wisdom, and RIGHTEOUSNESS, and sanctification, and redemption” 1 Cor. 1:30.
5. You can have the same confidence to stand before God because Jesus has taken your sins away and given you His righteousness; “For [God] has made him [Jesus] to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” 2 Cor. 5:21. Hallelujah!
II. HAVE STRONG CONTACT WITH GOD
A. EFFECTUAL FERVENT PRAYER
1. Elijah was no stranger to God; he walked with God daily by prayer, fellowship, staying full of His Spirit, and in His Word.
2. The Greek actually says, “inwardly energized prayer.” This indicates a lasting and strong relationship with God. We can have (and SHOULD HAVE) this same kind of relationship with God. We just need to spend time with God!
3. Henry Drummond said, "Ten minutes spent in Christ's society [presence] every day—aye, ten minutes, if it’s ‘face to face’ and ‘heart to heart,’ will make the whole life different."
4. TRANSMISSION OF ELECTRICAL POWER. It’s a well-known axiom of electrical engineering, “The greater the volume of power to be transmitted, the stronger the connection with the power house must be.” This means, if we want to have greater power with God in prayer/ or as a vessel of the Holy Spirit, then our connection to Jesus must get greater/stronger!
B. HAVE A FAITH THAT LAYS CLAIM TO THE PROMISES
1. Elijah forgot about everything else and went toward God in prayer, intending to persuade God to grant his request. Elijah knew that he had led the nation into meeting the prerequisites for their prayers to be answered (Israel repented).
2. Elijah displayed the kind of faith which possesses God’s promises. When he knew something was available, or possible, he set out to make it a reality for God’s people.
3. Like Joshua was told, “Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread on, that have I given to you” as an inheritance, Josh. 1:3. God intends for us to fight for & to claim all His promises and make them ours. It pleases Him when we take back ground from the devil & liberate God’s people.
4. Sam Chadwick: "The one concern of the devil is to keep Christians from praying. He fears nothing from prayerless studies, prayerless work, prayerless religion. He laughs at our toil. He mocks at our wisdom. But he trembles when we pray."
5. A. C. Dixon; "When we depend upon organization, we get what organization can do. When we depend upon our preaching, we get what our preaching can do....When we depend upon education, we get what education can do. But when we depend upon prayer, we get what God can do. And what all of us need is what GOD can do!"
III. PERSIST UNTIL THE ANSWER COMES
A. HE PRAYED UNTIL HE HAD A WITNESS
1. “Elijah climbed to the top of Carmel, bent down to the ground and put his face between his knees. “Go and look toward the sea,” he told his servant. And he went up and looked. “There is nothing there,” he said. Seven times Elijah said, “Go back.” The seventh time the servant reported, “A cloud as small as a man’s hand is rising from the sea.” So Elijah said, “Go and tell Ahab, ‘Hitch up your chariot and go down before the rain stops you.’” 1 Kgs. 18:42-44.
2. Elijah kept interceding until he got a witness that God had heard and was answering his prayer. He had to pray 7X, yet all seven prayers were part of one fighting intercession – where Elijah sweated and cried out to God over and over – until he felt a release from God; God had heard and the answer was on the way!
B. ILLUSTRATION: The Power of the Bended Knee
1. Have you ever watched how a bird sleeps on its perch and never falls off? How does it do this? The secret is the tendons of the bird's legs.
2. They are so constructed (by God) that when the leg is bent at the knee, the claws contract and grip like a steel trap. The claws refuse to let go until the knees are unbent again. The bended knee gives the bird the ability to hold on to his perch so tightly.
3. Isn’t this also the secret of the holding power of the Christian? When they tried to get Daniel not to pray, he planted himself all the more firmly in his window. He refused to let go; he held firm when others faltered because he was a man of prayer. He knew the power of the bended knee.
4. From sleeping birds we learn the secret of holding on to things which are most precious – our purity, honor, & character. The secret is the knee bent in prayer, which will hold us firmly to God in all situations! unknown
C. PERSISTENCE TURNS THE TIDE
1. In the Parable of the Persistent Widow (Lk. 18:1), Jesus “told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.” Jesus then told the story of a helpless widow who kept bugging a judge (hour after hour & day after day) until he gave in to her persistence and helped her. Jesus indicated we too should be persistent like her, with God, until He answers our prayer!
2. James 5:17-18 says, Elijah “prayed that it might not rain.” “Again he prayed & the heaven gave rain.” POINT? PRAYER IS THE KEY WHICH OPENS & SHUTS HEAVEN!
D. WHAT IF HE’D ASKED FOR “BIG?”
1. The lady at the car rental desk asked a Christian if He'd like a free upgrade. He answered, "Nah. I'm five feet tall. What would I do with extra leg room?” She smiled a knowing smile & handed him some keys.
2. When he got out to the spot, “there sat the biggest Mercedes I've ever seen!” He wondered if the lady had given him the upgrade or if he was at the wrong spot. But the key worked, so he put his luggage into the trunk – which was “big enough to hold a revival meeting in!”
3. He slid onto the leather seat and couldn't help but smile. The control panel had every light, knob, button, screen and digital gadget he could imagine. He said, “I felt like the Captain of the Starship Enterprise.”
4. The funny thing was that he asked for "small;" but he got big. Isn't that how God is? God FORGIVES big. He LOVES big. He gives us LIFE in the biggest way. He loves to answer BIG. The Christian later said, “I wonder what would have happened if I’d asked for "big" at the car rental place? I might have gotten a TANK!” (By Rhonda Rhea)
CONCLUSION
A. ILLUSTRATION: GEORGE MUELLER & THE FOG
1. The captain of a trans-Atlantic steamer was startled by someone tapping him on the shoulder. It was George Mueller. “Captain,” he said, “I’ve come to tell you that I must be in Quebec on Saturday afternoon.” This was Wednesday.
2. “It’s impossible,” he said. “I would willingly help you, but how can I? I’m helpless. Mr. Mueller, do you know how dense this fog is?”
3. “No,” he replied, “my eye is not on the density of the fog, but on the living God, who controls every circumstance of my life.” Mueller went down on his knees with the Captain, and prayed a prayer something like this: “O Lord, if it’s consistent with Your will, please remove this fog in five minutes. You know the engagement You made for me in Quebec for Saturday. I believe it’s Your will.”
4. When he had finished, the Captain was going to pray, but Mueller put his hand on his shoulder and told him not to pray. “First,” he said, “you don’t believe God will do it; and, second, I believe He HAS done it, so there’s no need whatever for you to pray about it.”
5. Mueller said, “Get up, Captain and open the door, and you will find the fog is gone.” “I got up, and the fog was gone. On Saturday afternoon George Mueller was in Quebec.”
B. THE CALL
1. Do you need FORGIVENESS from Jesus and to have His RIGHTEOUSNESS conferred on you? Pray the Sinner’s Prayer with me.
2. Phillips translation says, “Tremendous power is made available through a good man’s [woman’s] earnest prayer.”
3. Today we’re going to take the next 20 minutes (check your watch) and pray at the 9 prayer banners around the sanctuary. If you only pray three minutes at each banner, you will finish the assignment of prayer today. Let’s pray as hard as we can; your prayer may be the one God answers! Do you really want revival?
