Effective Prayer

• First and foremost a deeply personal thing, yet often public.• What a gift, the ability to converse with the

creator of the Universe.• What a comfort in times of peril or trouble.• It is natural and understandable that we want

our prayer life to be effective.

The Blessing of Prayer

• Do Jesus and the writers of the NT give any attention to how to pray “effectively”?

• First of course there is the Lord’s Prayer, we teach it, we memorize it, we even sing it.

• We use it as a model of how we should approach the Father.

How to pray…..

Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth,

as it is in heaven.Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the

kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever.

Amen.

Matthew 6:5-8 “Whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, because they love to pray while standing in synagogues and on street corners so that people can see them. Truly I say to you, they have their reward. But whenever you pray, go into your room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret….”

There are instructions for prayer…..

“…..and your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you. When you pray, do not babble repetitiously like the Gentiles, because they think that by their many words they will be heard. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.”

Examples of Prayer in ScriptureThere are at least seventy, many notable:• Hannah: “O Lord….. if you will, give Your maidservant a male

child, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life…..” (I Samuel 1:11)

• David: “O God…..wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.” (Psalms 51:1-2)

• Jesus: “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.”(John 17:24)

With models, instructions, and examples captured in scripture then, doesn’t it seem that there is an emphasis on guiding us in our prayer life.

• Is there a danger in dealing with prayer too much in an analytical or “cause/effect” manner?

• Should we give attention to what we can do to make our prayers more “effectual”, or only on what He can do?

• You alone are accountable to God for your approach to prayer, and you must follow your convictions about how you should pray, based on your understanding.

What is the extent of our role in the effectiveness of prayer?

• Frequency• Repetition

• How long do you pray?• Specificity of request

• How many are praying together?• Posture (hands raised, bowed, kneeling, prostrate) • Physical State (fasting, deprivation of sleep, etc.)

Many Variables

• First, prayer does not depend on our linguistic talents, our ability to articulate with precisely the right words.

• Secondly, we should never give up on prayer.

• Thirdly, when it comes to instruction in prayer one attribute seems to stand out,…

Some things are clear……

fervency

…..The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. James 5:16b

• Brushed over lightly this verse seems to say, if you’re trying to be a good person, and you pray like you really mean it, you’ll see results.

• But breaking down the language it seems to be more rich in meaning than that.

So, what’s the point……

In this same verse that mentions fervency

there is another variable, and tonight I’d

like to focus there, perhaps the most

important but most difficult variable of all.

• πολὺ ἰσχύει δέησις δικαίου ἐνεργουμένη

• poly ischyei deēsi dikaiou energoumenē

• much prevails prayer of a righteous [man] effecting

James 5:16, in the Greek……..

Whole bunch of indecipherable symbols + Impossible to pronounce words + Awkwardly convoluted sentence = Really important stuff!

Surefire simple formula for translating the original Greek……..

• The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. (KJV)

• The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much (NASB)

• The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. (NIV)

Treatment of “energoumenē” In modern English versions……..

• Simply literary reiteration and therefore synonymous with “availeth much”

• The active “energizing” by another entity, in this case the Holy Spirit

• …or another possibility.

Possible renderings of “energoumenē”

1) I have a dream!2) I need help…from someone, somewhere!3) I really care about you!4) God, let’s connect5) I’m quiet, and I’m listening6) Alleluia anyway!7) Make me a blessing!

In his book “Prayer: My Soul’s Adventure with God ”, Robert Schuller refers to what he calls the Seven Levels of Prayer

Level One: Dreaming•Dreaming is also deemed by some as possibility thinking•Faith in God is dreaming that with God it is possible.•In other words, faith

-- that He is,

-- that He hears,

-- that He cares,

-- that He is able,

-- that He is willing, and

-- that He will, or has……

The energy of dreaming• Faith is the “energoumenē” or energy created

in the prayer of one who is righteous that then makes the prayer “effectual” or effective.

• How can we arrive at that kind of faith?... a question often asked of Jesus by his disciples.

• Your being here shows that you already have a measure of faith.

• “Faith comes by hearing” (Romans 10:17)• Faith is a “gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8)• God gives “good gifts” to those who ask Him

(Matthew 7:11)

The good news is that

A Leap of TrustIn Phillip Yancey’s book, Prayer, Does it Make any Difference, he says: “I used to wonder how I could muster up more faith…the faith that readily believes in miracles.…I found instead a realistic faith that developed as a by-product of spending time with God. I came to trust God, even trusting that God’s will is the best for me, though rarely the easiest…..”

Trusting God means first being honest with Him about ourissues…..

“I believe, help my unbelief” Mark 9:22-24 ”……..if You can do anything, take pity on us and help us!” And Jesus said to him, “ ‘If You can?’ All things are possible to him who believes.” Immediately the boy’s father cried out and said, “I do believe; help my unbelief.”

“Lord, You know that I believe in You, but I have these ………..

•Times of despair, anger, orfrustration•Times when I don’t fully trust You

• Troubling inconsistencies•Questions•Doubts

Begin by being totally candid with God in our prayer language

“Why, When, How, ……?“I know…..but…… “Surely God, You……“If You will……then I promise I will……“Consider……..“Show me…….“Nevertheless, not my will but Thine………“Lord, my faith is not what it could be…….

The LORD is near to all who call upon Him,To all who call upon Him in truth.

Psalms 145:18

A prayer list and devotional go out to the Prayer Team each Monday, updated with all requests received by web, email, guest card, phone, etc.