Many believers have faith in others’ prayers more than they do in their own prayers. Asking fellow believers to bear you up in prayer, no doubt is biblical (1 Timothy 2:1); but some believers would much rather have others pray for them than they would pray for themselves. I call such people chronic prayer seekers. This is as a result of the lack of confidence some believers have in their own prayers. Assuming a very well-known man of God entered a room full of believers and promised to pray for the first person to come forward, you can almost be certain that a stampede would occur. However, this need not be. James 5:16b tells us that “The earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available [dynamic in its working]”.
From the above scripture, there are two conditions for effective prayer. First, the prayer must be earnest (heartfelt, continued). A prayer that is heartfelt and continued is intense and sustained over a period of time. This is not the prayer that is forgotten as soon as you close from church or when you leave your prayer closet. Secondly, for one’s prayer to be effective, one has to be righteous. Righteousness is one of the often misunderstood truths in Christianity. Many Christians, hesitate to call themselves righteous, because they see righteousness as an attribute that is earned. However, the Bible clearly calls the born again believer “the righteous of God”. “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” (2 Corinthians 5:21).
Jesus Christ was made sin for us so we would become the righteousness of God in Christ. Therefore the believer (anyone who believes and confesses Jesus as Lord and Saviour) has become the righteousness of God in Christ. You do not become righteous because of what you do or don’t do, but because of what Jesus has already done for you (Romans 5:17; Romans 10:1-4 and Philippians 3:9). We are made righteous with the righteousness of God. Until you become conscious that you have been made righteous, your prayers will be weak.
Apostle Paul shows us how to conduct or make earnest prayers in Colossians 4:2-3: “Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving; 3 Withal praying also for us, that God would open unto us a door of utterance, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds. It is important to watch while you pray (Matthew 26:41). ‘Watching’ means looking out for the answers to the same prayers you are praying. If you do not look out for the answers to your prayers they might come without you even noticing they have.
God told Elijah that, He (God) had commanded a widow at Zarephath to feed him in the time of drought and famine. However, notice that it was Elijah who asked the widow to give him food; he did not have the food simply handed to him by the widow. Had Elijah not ‘watched’ he might have missed what God had given, because it seemed the widow was unaware that she had been commanded by God to feed the Prophet (1 Kings 17:8-16). We must always watch out for the answers when we pray because the prayers of the righteous definitely receive answers.
Notice Paul said to watch with thanksgiving. Thanksgiving keeps what you have prayed for alive, or fresh in your spirit. What Paul was asking the Colossians to pray for is that a door of utterance would be opened unto him so that he could preach the gospel. In the same way, you must pray for an open door in your health, business, finances, marriage and any area of your life. Those doors will remain closed until you pray; the prayers will literally force them open.
John Wesley made the statement that \”It seems God is limited by our prayer life – that He can do nothing for humanity unless someone asks Him.\” God has given the authority over the earth to man (Psalm 115:16). Even though man lost this to Satan, Jesus restored this back to anyone that believes in Him (Matthew 28:18; John 1:12; 1 John 5:1-4; Revelation 5:10). Since man has been given the authority over earth by God, everybody, including God Himself, requires man’s permission to operate on the earth, and it is through prayer that we permit God to operate on earth on our behalf. Commit to pray more than you are doing, and be more intense in prayer, and your prayers will yield results – not just once in a while – but every time.