It is amazing when you study prayer what you find out. People ask us to pray for them all the time and we do it usually without really giving it much thought. Then we wonder why it often seems like nothing happens.
James 5:16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
If I have a car, I want to keep it well maintained so it runs when I get in it to drive. So, I take it in for regular inspections, watch my tire pressure, keep my fluids filled and pay attention when I get a warning light. In the same way, you keep your fellowship with God well maintained. Stay in the Word and pray daily. Spend time in the Word to keep yourself sharp. Confessing your faults to another person is a matter of keeping your relationships on an even keel. If you've done something to hurt somebody, get right on it and apologize quickly. Righteousness is a matter of believing rightly. A fervent prayer is an intense prayer. It doesn't mean shouting or being loud, it's talking about being focused, single minded and pressed into your believing. You don't pray a glib and throw-away kind of prayer. It's an attitude.
To be effective we need to pray a prayer of faith, not a prayer of hope. Just hoping for something without faith won't give you your answer. Now you need to be hopeful if you expect to build faith, but in and of itself wishful thinking is impotent. It just doesn't work and it won't get you anywhere. One purpose of prayer is to receive something God has promised in His Word. If you look into the Word, you will find some pretty amazing stuff.
When we pray to God we should not go about begging and pleading like the manner of some folks is. When Jesus prayed for people he commanded. He did not plead or beg God. His disciples and followers did the same in the Book of Acts.
Matthew 8:2-3 2And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. strong>3And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. Matthew 9: 28-29 28And when he was come into the house, the blind men came to him: and Jesus saith unto them, Believe ye that I am able to do this? They said unto him, Yea, Lord. 29Then touched he their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it unto you. Acts 3: 6 Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.
As you can see, these prayers are commands. If you are a child of your father God, you can exercise the authority of your father God. Why? Because it's Christ in you! He gave you holy spirit. You are the son of the almighty.
Often when we see Jesus pray, he commands. He tells the storm, "Peace, be still." He tells the lame man, "Rise up and walk." The same is true in the book of Acts. We see the disciples pray this way. Prayer is often pretty mechanical. With the proper ingredients it works all the time. God is not a liar. He fulfills his promises and backs up his Word.
If I don't see results when I pray, is it God's fault or mine? I may think I was believing, but the results may say differently. If I insist I was believing, I am calling God a liar.
Romans 3:4 God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged.
When I learned to fire a rifle in the army, I learned all the principles the first time I went to the rifle range. Put your cheek on the same spot on the rifle, line up the sights, hold your breath and pull the trigger nice and smooth. Did you know that I didn't hit the target very often at first? Eventually I got much better and the whole process became as automatic as tying my shoe.
When we began the live fire practice, I started once again to miss my targets quite a bit. In an actual live situation, you don't have the luxury of taking your time to line up a shot. You depend on the habits you built at the rifle range. The basic principles didn't change, but we had to get better at the basic principles off the rifle range to be effective. Prayer is kind of like that. If you practice correctly at home, it will work at the grocery store in the checkout line or when you pray with someone while on the treadmill at the gym or in your cubicle at work.
You've got to see what you want to happen before you pray. God made a promise. You zero in on that promise to make it yours. you need to trust that God is going to make good on His promise before you fire that prayer. You zero in on that target.You go in there expecting an answer before you even ask. The Word of God is the Will of God. What is the promise of God that you are trying to claim? Make it yours.
The moment you pray, you believe that you receive. Get yourself to the place that when you pray, you're going to believe. You are going to believe that you already have received. You put yourself in the future and everything you say about it has to be in the past. For example: "By his stripes I WAS healed…" It's a done deal. Act like it.
Mark 11:22-25 22And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God. 23For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. 24Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. 25And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.
See, if you believe that you have received it, you shall have it. Remember that your prayer is answered the way you prayed it. If it takes some time to be seen, so what. The time that passes to receive does not change God's response.All the promises are yes and amen. God's Word is forever settled in heaven, so you must settle it in your heart. It's not a maybe. God means what He says and says what He means.
Psalm 119:89 For ever, O Lord, thy word is settled in heaven.
If you can't settle it for yourself, you are not in faith. Once you believe you receive and have prayed, then you must talk as if it is already done. There was a woman whose son died who went to see the prophet Elijah to raise her dead son. In all her interactions, she did not confess one time that her son was dead because she was driven to see her son raised from the dead. She continually confessed "It is well." You may need to be that crazy.
The prayer was answered the moment you believed you received. There may be a process involved in getting to believe that you received, that's why you push into it. Why? You can say it and not mean it. Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God. Spend more time in scripture if you need to. Ask other believers to pray with you. Memorize a verse or two of scripture for mental combat if you find yourself challenged in a category of believing.You want to abide in Him and have his words abide in you.
When you start speaking that word, you will get aggressive. The more you dwell on God's promises, the more will you get convinced of them and the easier it will be to claim them for your self. Meditate on the scriptures day and night. Praying without ceasing is like continually being aware of God's presence and being aware that every word you speak is important. Don't sabotage your prayer with reversed thinking and speaking.
Someone will surely say to you, "Well you don't look healed" You must continue to confess that you are. No, it's not denial, it's not wishful thinking. You are following the faith recipe. You've claimed the promise and it's yours. You don't explain it or water it down for anyone else. It's not about being nice. It's about confessing the good faith. It's about your life. I hope this helps you. The truth is, I wrote this for me.