Effective prayer is like wood on fire; it roars and produces heat
Many people claim they pray. Most people do it out of necessity when they need something or they are in trouble. The Bible tells us to pray. The Bible is an invitation to have a conversation with God.
In James 5:16, we are encouraged to, “Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” There is a lot in this verse to unpack.” Consider this one specific phrase, “The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous person avails much.”
What is effective prayer? Is there "in-effective" prayer? Are there defective prayers? There are people who pray and do not seem to have any results? There must be a barrier if some prayers are in-effective or defective?
"Effective" is a word that means "to be operative, to have an effect."
In simple terms, prayer matters. It accomplishes what it was intended to accomplish. Effective and fervency in prayer is like wood on a fire. Add the wood and the fire roars and produces heat.
Witnessing effective prayer
We witnessed effective prayer in two recent national emergencies. You will never forget Monday night, Jan. 2, when the Buffalo Bills safety tackled Bengals receiver Tee Higgins? Damar Hamlin collapsed and died on the field. Everyone was stunned. Commentators did not know what to say. Without a word of controversy or criticism, it seemed everyone knew what to do, pray. Wow! Finally, someone gets it, when it is beyond you, beyond human ability or even outside of the NFL’s policies. People prayed and prayed and prayed a little more to see the intervention of God. No one else could do what God can do, extend life. This is an effective prayer.
Next there was Matt Laubhan, chief meteorologist with WTVA in Mississippi. He prayed on live TV while he watched the development of a series of EF-4 tornado’s barrel toward Rolling Fork, Mississippi. Are you ready for this bold word, he even prayed in Jesus’ Name for people to run for safety and shelter. Why, because in some circumstances, when disaster is in front of you, we can only do what we know to do. Call upon the God of life and the Creator of the Universe to intervene. This is an effective prayer.
An invitation to pray
You are now officially invited to one of the most powerful events in all of Ashland County each year. On Thursday, May 4, 6:30-7:59 a.m., we gather to pray. We meet at the Ashland University Convocation Center for a community prayer breakfast. We pray for our educators, businesses, social and civic leadership, medical and EMS workers, law enforcement officials, elected public servants, pastors, and para church ministry leaders.
We confess we need help from Jesus, Who rose from the dead to save our souls. We pray for each other because there are just some circumstances in life where effective prayer is necessary. We call upon God to divert some storms away from us and to get us through others. We need to pray effective and fervent prayers.
Join us. Visit the Ashland County Ministerial Association website, ashlandcma.org/events. Click on May 4 and the hyperlink will take you to the tickets.
John Bouquet is lead pastor at Bethel Baptist Church, 575 US Route 250, Savannah.
This article originally appeared on Ashland Times Gazette: Community prayer breakfast in Ashland is May 4; pray effectively
