"The Strength Of Prayer"

James 5:13-18  Are any of you suffering hardships? You should pray. Are any of you happy? You should sing praises.  Are any of you sick? You should call for the elders of the church to come and pray over you, anointing you with oil in the name of the Lord.  Such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make you well. And if you have committed any sins, you will be forgiven.  Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.  Elijah was as human as we are, and yet when he prayed earnestly that no rain would fall, none fell for three and a half years!  Then, when he prayed again, the sky sent down rain and the earth began to yield its crops. 

When everything else is weak you can have The STRENGTH Of PRAYER.

Through The Strength Of Prayer you can….

• Save a marriage
• Face your faults
• Change directions
• Open a wounded heart
• Launch on a mission

The STRENGTH Of PRAYER is where we connect with GOD and Find….

• The Grace to change
• The Courage to act
• The Ability to Understand
• The Tenderness to Love

Elijah — The Strength to Convince

Jacob — The Strength to Transform

Jesus — The Strength to face the unbearable

 

The STRENGTH Of PRAYER is the most powerful force on earth.

There is no facet of the Christian life under attack more than PRAYER.  Satan lays a perpetual siege against prayer, because he knows that of all that’s said and done concerning the KOG, the actual impact depends upon The STRENGTH Of PRAYER.  I think that if the influence of the Church is weak, then anemic prayer is the cause.  Therefore I want to give you 3 things you must BE in order to have The STRENGTH Of PRAYER.  Here they are: Be READY, be SPECIFIC, and be THOROUGH

 

#1 Be READY to Pray

Rom. 12:12 (Be)…instant in prayer; 

In our fast-paced world full of unexpected challenges, being caught off guard, UNREADY to pray, is a serious problem.  It’s an indication of how deeply distracted we allow ourselves to become.  It’s the exact position Satan wants to get you into.  When the need for Prayer arises, and we’re caught w/o Oil in our Lamps, it’s because we’ve let ourselves drift so far from the Spirit.  Our hearts and minds have trouble connecting with GOD because we haven’t kept the lens of His Word up to our eyes as we view the world and its troubles.  Make your READINESS to Pray the most important barometer of your soul.  Don’t silence the alarm that signals when your Heart and Mind start to drift across the lane into oncoming traffic.

 

#2  Be SPECIFIC in Prayer.

 

Jesus said, “Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” — Mark 14:38

Sleep Walking through life rather than Watching and staying Vigilant causes the inability to focus prayer on a specific need and answer.

1Pet. 5:8 Keep your mind clear, and be alert. Your opponent the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion as he looks for someone to devour.

The STRENGTH Of PRAYER relies on your ability to be SPECIFIC.  If you need an operation you go to a Surgeon who KNOWS what he’s cutting into, and has the right instruments.  Not someone with an anatomy book and a butter knife.   That kind of SPECIFICITY requires an ability to Matchup the Circumstances you’re praying for with the right Promise of GOD’s WORD.  That kind of insight comes from WATCHING.  Which means, seeking the Holy Spirit’s explanation of Life through the Word of GOD.  Don’t let the world tell you how to think about things!  GOD says, “The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one.” — 1Cor. 2:15

Prayers that get answers don’t have to be eloquent.  But they do come from a Process of distilling the request down to its essential need, and then matching it with GOD’s Appropriate Promise.  You have to Care Enough about the Answer to seek and receive the Spirit’s wisdom about how to pray.  This kind of Specificity comes from DESIRE.    

Mark 11:24 Therefore I say unto you, What things soever you DESIRE, when you pray, believe you receive them, and you shall have them.

 

#3  Be THOROUGH in Prayer.

The old-timers use to call it, “Praying Through”.  And it simply means that you pray until you receive your Answer or the Assurance of an Answer.  

Acts 12:5 Peter therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was made WITHOUT CEASING by the church unto God for him. 

When the Angel of GOD released Peter from jail and he went to the house where the church met, they were too busy praying to let him in!

In Gen. 32:26  Jacob wrestled with the angel of GOD for a blessing.  When the angel said, Let me go, Jacob said, I won’t let you go UNLESS you bless me. 

The STRENGTH Of PRAYER won’t relent until GOD answers.   But you can’t Pray Through on Prayer-Fumes.  Praying Through takes a tank of mental vision full of the Word of GOD.  Without a Filled-Up-Mind it’s hard to have a Made-Up-Mind.  Because it’s Powerful Word-Inspired Thoughts that produce the faith to Pray Through.

IN CONCLUSION, Your Prayer Life IS your actual relationship with GOD.  So…

• Pray without ceasing.  
• Never stray too far from prayer.  
• Keep your conscience tender and your thoughts always standing in the Doorway of Prayer.