My last post was sermon notes on Heard Prayer. I am following that up with sermon notes for my visit to Comforts of Home on this coming Saturday. This one is about Effective Prayer. Again, this is not an exhaustive study, but I trust it will be good for pondering and assisting you in exploring the topic.

Effective Prayer
Comforts of Home
November 14, 2009


The last time I was here, I spoke about prayer that God heard. I used the verse from James as a jumping off point. James 5:16b “The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.” I also pointed out John 9:31 which says, “We know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is God-fearing and does His will, He hears him.” These same verses are also a good place to start when considering effective prayer. I think you would agree that the first thing for prayer to be effective is that God hears it. So recalling that it is the prayer of the righteous that is heard, and being righteous is to be God-fearing and obedient to the will of God, I must discover the will of God and live a holy life.

Discovering the will of God is key here and it often seems like the most daunting of tasks. How do I discern the will of God? James continued on with a story from 1 Kings about the prophet Elijah and how he prayed and it did not rain for three and a half years, then he prayed again and the sky poured rain. I would say that Elijah knew the will of God. In fact, by looking back at the story, it says, “Now it happened after many days that the word of the LORD came to Elijah in the third year, saying, ‘Go, show yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the face of the earth.’” One way to know the will of God is to have God speak it to us directly, but this is rare for we are not prophets such as Elijah was. But let’s keep in mind that James began the story saying, “Elijah was a man with a nature like ours”, thereby encouraging us that God can use us to perform His will just as He did Elijah.

I cannot stand before you and say that I have ever audibly heard the voice of God, however, there have been instances where I believe that He has spoken to me very clearly. The first instance was about one month after my conversion on a beautiful spring day. I was on the deck of our Bismark, ND apartment reading a book. I believe it was "The Cost of Discipleship" by Dietrich Bonhoffer. Like a bolt, it dawned on me. It was as if someone had just said to me, "Not only have you not drank or smoked for the past month, but you haven't even had the desire to." It wasn’t thoughts that I constructed as in the preparing of this sermon or if we were having a conversation. It was like a paragraph or sentences had been implanted whole into my mind. It was quicker than, but just as real as if you spoke the words to me right now. It was so real that in response I flushed the pot down the toilet and poured the scotch down the drain of the kitchen sink.

Another instance was in response to prayer. I would have to say that it was effective prayer. One day while praying, kneeling at the foot of my bed, I believe God revealed a plan to me to answer my prayers. I just knew it all at once. It was not something that I sat around conjuring up in my mind. It was in my mind all at once, all of a sudden. I was to go on vacation the following week just as I had planned to do and I was to enjoy it. That part seemed odd to me, but if God wanted me to follow through on my vacation plans, then why not enjoy it? God is good. I was to fast and pray for the week following my return home. I was to repent and work on a couple of issues that I had allowed to gain a foothold in my life. The sinfulness was separating me from God and from living for Him. I was to then call upon the elders for prayer. I did it all just as I believed I was instructed. I fasted, prayed and repented after one of the best vacations our family had ever enjoyed. Sunday came and I must confess that doubts began to press in. Was it really instruction from God or did I make it up in my own mind? It was the same temptation as it was in the Garden of Eden. Did God really say…? I figured that I had nothing to lose and everything to gain by asking the elders to pray for me. I went forward during the prayer time, confessed my sin and asked for prayer. I received prayer and encouragement and returned to my seat. There were no electric feelings or supernatural words or anything other than ordinary men talking with one another and God. Later that evening, my wife asked me if I had taken my drugs. I responded that I didn’t believe that I needed them anymore. She reminded me of what waited the next day if I didn’t take them. I just had a calm assurance that I no longer needed the drugs. The next day was mild discomfort and as the days passed, my body returned to life without that pain that I had endured for so long. It was only because of the mercy and goodness of God and obedience to the Word in conjunction with His will.

I believe the key to that healing was knowing the Word of God and acting upon it. James 1:22 instructs us, “But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.” Hearing and knowing the Word of God is good, but to live it and perform it is where the power of the living God is brought to life. Without taking action, my faith in the Word was fairly useless. To step out and follow the instruction of the Word was the act that allowed God to demonstrate His power in my life. Being obedient to the will of God requires decisiveness and action on our part. We must first decide to believe and then we must act upon that belief which breathes life into our faith.

The adjective, effective, has a pretty simple definition. It is, adequate to accomplish a purpose. Adequate is a word that always strikes me as less than best. It is defined, as much or as good as necessary for some requirement or purpose. In pondering this definition, I realize that God never expects more from us than what is necessary to accomplish the purpose. There is no need for excessive flare and drama as if we were presenting something on Broadway. No, He expects us to do what is necessary. Both words include in the definitions the word purpose. When I pray, do I really consider the purpose? Purpose is defined as the reason for which something exists or is done, made, used, etc. What is the real purpose, or reason behind my prayer? Is my prayer selfish in nature or is it something that would be pleasing to God? I’m not necessarily talking about the act so much as the attitude. Where praying for personal healing may seem a selfish act, what is the state of the heart while praying?
The answer to “What is effective prayer?” is the same as the answer to “Why am I here?” and “What is the purpose of life?”. It is simply, to glorify God. Glorify, another word not often used in our daily conversation.  To glorify God is to treat Him as being more splendid or excellent. I am to honor God with praise, admiration, and worship.

My actions reveal the state of my heart. Since my prayers are actions I perform, they reveal the state of my heart. I can then evaluate whether or not they glorify God. If they do not glorify Him, I have no right to expect a response from Him. This does not mean that He will definitely not respond though, for in His sovereignty He may choose to do so. However, I should have no expectation of my desires being fulfilled if God is not glorified in them. On the other side of the coin, my prayers and my purpose may be glorifying to God, but the answer may be something other than what I desire. Paul spoke of such a thing, the thorn in the flesh. In 2 Corinthians 12:7-9 he writes, “Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me--to keep me from exalting myself! Concerning this I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me. And He has said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness’. Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.” Paul sought relief from the torment, but he was able to receive the answer, trusting in God and His perfect will. Paul knew that God would use it for a purpose that would glorify God.

This leads me back to being God-fearing and being obedient to His will. If I measure the effectiveness of my prayer by whether or not I received the answer I was looking for, I will surely be disappointed and discouraged. If my measurement is whether or not I received an answer at all, I can rejoice and give thanks. What a joy, blessing and privilege it is to know that the Creator of the universe would share His will, His purpose, with me. Who am I that the Living God would find me worthy of hearing from Him? I must understand that prayer is communication on a personal level. It is not the presentation of a list of requests as if at a drive through window. It is faithfully seeking God; believing that He hears me and then believing that I will hear Him if I stop long enough to listen. I may hear something that is unexpected or even unwelcome. But what is the purpose of my prayer? Is it to get what I want or is it to converse with Almighty God? It is hard for me to get my head around the idea that such a Supreme Being would have time for little old me. What an honor it is to be able to go boldly before the throne of the Judge of all of creation. What a blessing it is to be warmly welcomed into His presence. Even as I prepared this message I was overwhelmed by the joy of the knowledge of his presence. It is impossible to describe to someone who has no personal knowledge of God’s saving grace. It is impossible to deny His existence once the knowledge and experience has been received.

The band FFH has a song titled Astronaut. The first verse is this:
As I look through the evening sky
I think to myself
How much He must love you and I
The Milky Way makes me look
Like a piece of dust on the road
But the Milky Way is a speck of dust
Compared to my Lord
That's how big He is
That's how big He is

I enjoy sitting back and pondering the thought, “Who am I Lord that You love me?” “Who am I Lord that You would come to earth in the form of man and give Your life so that I may be restored to eternal life?” “Who am I Lord that You would love me despite my sinfulness and bring me back into your perfect creation one day?” “Who am I Lord, that as this speck of dust in all the cosmos, that You would here my prayer?” When contemplating this, I am overwhelmed by His loving presence as the thoughts are so humbling. Humility and thanksgiving are the keys to entering into the presence of God. These are the things that glorify God. These are the things that clear the slate so real communion may be experienced with God.

This is effective prayer, to hear God and to do His will.

Humble yourself and call out to God. Ask Him to reveal the truth of Himself to you and He will show you the way of Salvation. The Son, Jesus Christ, came to earth in the form of man and went to the cross and died for each one of us. The shedding of His blood was the necessary sacrifice for the forgiveness of our sins. It is our humility and belief in that sacrifice, our trusting in the work of Christ, that will allow us to receive the gift of eternal life. Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.” There is no other way, He gives no other options. If we don’t agree, our argument is with God. Who are we to call God a liar? It is humility, faith and thanksgiving that will make the most important prayer of our lives effective. That is the prayer in which we confess our sins and acknowledge the truth of the gospel. The answer to that prayer, the result of that communication with God, the purpose of Christ’s prayer, is our salvation from the penalty of sin, which gives us eternal life. My prayer is that you will have effective prayer in your life.