Day 38: Prayers Doing Work

“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.” (James 5:16) This is probably the most quoted scripture about prayer in the entire Bible. If we are not careful, commonly quoted verses like this one may seem to lose their power. I urge you to consider the claim made here as if you were reading it for the first time. Do you really believe that when you live rightly before God, your prayers can do great things? Making a statement about prayer is one thing, but this claim is immediately followed by an awesome example.

“Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit." (James 5:17-18)

Wow! We may sometimes feel discouraged from praying for hard things from God because we think our requests are too ambitious. Rest assured that the God who created the universe can do whatever you ask, and he WILL do what is best for you when you ask (Matthew 7:8-

11).

I have heard this verse from the time I was young, and always thought that the way it was translated- “effective” prayer “availing much”- was a bit redundant. I looked up the original Greek word that is rendered “effective” in this passage. It comes from the same root word for “energy”, or “the ability to do work.” We can and should understand that prayers can do work.

Notice the words “effective” (full of energy), “fervent”, and “earnestly” used in these passages to describe this kind of prayer. There is a time and a place to truly pour your heart out to God. “A man with a nature like ours”, if he prays in this manner, and in righteousness, will avail much.

Written by Alan Cantrell, a senior at Mt. Juliet High School

# posted by JP @ 12:01 AM on Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Comments:

Prayers "full of energy!" Alan, your teaching is methodical and powerful. Thanks for a tremendous article. I love the challenge you put before us!
Not to mention you also make a pretty cool duck tape dinosaur!

# posted by

David R. Shannon : December 21, 2010 at 8:29 PM



Day 38: Prayers Doing Work “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.” (James 5:16) This is probably the most quoted scripture about prayer in the entire Bible. If we are not careful, commonly quoted verses like this one may seem to lose their power. I urge you to consider the claim made here as if you were reading it for the first time. Do you really believe that when you live rightly before God, your prayers can do great things? Making a statement about prayer is one thing, but this claim is immediately followed by an awesome example. “Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit." (James 5:17-18) Wow! We may sometimes feel discouraged from praying for hard things from God because we think our requests are too ambitious. Rest assured that the God who created the universe can do whatever you ask, and he WILL do what is best for you when you ask (Matthew 7:8-11). I have heard this verse from the time I was young, and always thought that the way it was translated- “effective” prayer “availing much”- was a bit redundant. I looked up the original Greek word that is rendered “effective” in this passage. It comes from the same root word for “energy”, or “the ability to do work.” We can and should understand that prayers can do work. Notice the words “effective” (full of energy), “fervent”, and “earnestly” used in these passages to describe this kind of prayer. There is a time and a place to truly pour your heart out to God. “A man with a nature like ours”, if he prays in this manner, and in righteousness, will avail much. Written by Alan Cantrell, a senior at Mt. Juliet High School # posted by JP @ 12:01 AM on Tuesday, December 21, 2010 Comments: Prayers "full of energy!" Alan, your teaching is methodical and powerful. Thanks for a tremendous article. I love the challenge you put before us! Not to mention you also make a pretty cool duck tape dinosaur! # posted by David R. Shannon : December 21, 2010 at 8:29 PM Post a Comment << Home	Mt. Juliet Church of Christ 1940 N. Mt. Juliet Road P.O.Box 248 Mt.Juliet, TN 37122-0248 (615)758-2274 Fax:615-754-2351 Email Worship Services: Sunday Early Worship: 8AM Sunday Bible Study: 9:15AM Sunday Late Worship: 10:15AM Night Worship: 6PM Wednesday Bible Study: 7PM Past Archives: November 2010 December 2010

Day 38: Prayers Doing Work

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