PREVAILING PRAYER

James 5.16KJV The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.

Living;  The earnest prayer of, a righteous man has great power and wonderful results

AMP:     The earnest (heart felt, continued) prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available -dynamic in its working.

Today the church is looking for better plans, methods to enlarge the gospel.

God's plan is to make much of the man

Men and women are God's method

While the Church is looking for better methods

God is looking for better men.

We don't need new and better machinery or new organisations

but men and women whom the Holy Ghost can use,

men and women of prayer, people mighty in prayer.

Holy Ghost doesn't flow through methods but men,

He doesn't come on machinery but men and women,

He doesn't anoint plans but people.

Who are these people:- Men and women of prayer.


Power of Prayer
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Daily Bread
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Power of Prayer
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Satan's greatest tool against a Christian is to prevent them praying

      -for then they will be ineffective

      -they won't regularly hear the voice of God

      -they won't be inclined to do His will in their life

      -and they won't move the hand of God to respond in the lives of lost sinners.

Prevailing prayer hangs on to God until it receives results.

eg. Paul, My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you. Gal 4.19

Effectual fervent prayer hangs on to God with passion to produce power.

  Prayer is not a form but a formation in you;

            not a plan but a passion;

            not a duty but a desire.

What prevailing prayer is not:

It does not consist of benevolent desires alone, although pleasing, they are not prayer, Even telling God what you want to see happen is not prayer.

What prevailing prayer is:

It is that prayer which attains the blessing it seeks from the hand of God.

Effectual prayer  - effects its object.

There are 2 means required to promote a revival in the hearts of men.

that they hear the truth and

that God's people pray.

Only the truth will harden men hearts,

only prayer and nothing would be done.

Men are not convicted by contact with Holy Ghost alone but when praying men and women declare to them the truth.

Some of the essentials to effectual prevailing prayer:  
by Charles Finny.

1. You must pray for a definite object

not saying your prayers at whatever time, but to be specific before God

'I ask for the salvation of John Smith'

2. To be effectual it must be in accordance with the revealed will of God

revealed 3 ways

a/ express promises in the Bible, specific and general

ie 'What things soever you desire when you pray, believe that you receive them and you shall have them.'

b/ by circumstance, God clearly shows the direction of his blessings to those who are spiritually discerning

c/ By His Spirit, ie. gifts of Spirit, voice of God, intuition etc

3. You must pray with submission to the will of God

To submit to any command of God is to obey it.

To choose to act contrary to the known will of God puts a blockage in your prayer life

4. Effectual prayer for an object implies a desire for that object commensurate with its importance

No amount of strength of desire is improper or presumptuous if it is in line with the will of God,

and we know his will, it is written in his word-

                     that is why it is important to know his word

eg. Prayer of Jacob, I will not let you go until you bless me

5. Prayer to be effectual must be offered from the right motives

Needs to be to give God all the glory,

Not from selfish motivation,

new car to feed my ego or 'Lord I am unselfishly totally committed to your work and I need a new car to fulfil that work'

6. To be effectual prayer must be by the intercession of the Spirit

You'll never offer prayer from purely unselfish motive unless motivated by Spirit, essential to pray in the Spirit

and search your soul with repentance

and offer praise prior to petitioning

so Holy Spirit will move through us to pray in the Spirit with power

Romans 8.26

7. It must be persevering prayer

Hold on till the blessing comes -

Never give up - Importunity  Luke 11.5-10 friend comes asking for bread at midnight.

8. To pray effectually you must pray a great deal

The power is in knowing God not the formula

You know God by spending time,

quality only comes out of quantity

9. Your prayer must be offered in the name of Jesus Christ

In Christ's name you will receive as much from God as Christ would himself.

All of God is available in the name of Christ and only in that name.

Only in that name have we access & boldness in God's presence.

10.   You cannot prevail in prayer without renouncing all your sins

If we continue in sin we prevent the answer for God is not obligated.

We must recall them, renounce them and then leave of from those things.

Repentance is not being sorry,

it a change of heart and action

11.   You must pray in faith

You must expect to obtain the things you ask for.

If you don't expect it you make God out to be a liar.

Let us determine to pray more, effectual and fervent prayer for God's intervention in our City, in the lives of those we know & love and work with.