The Effectual Fervent Prayer (Part 3)
Name of Assembly: United Apostolic Church
Type ofservice: Bible Study
Date: January 24th, 2023
Topic: “The Effectual Fervent Prayer”
Scripture Text: James 5:16-18
“Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit” – James 5:16-18.
“1 Kings 17:1And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the Lord God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word….” – 1 Kings 18:41-45 41 And Elijah said unto Ahab, Get thee up, eat and drink; for there is a sound of abundance of rain. 42 So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he cast himself down upon the earth, and put his face between his knees, 43 And said to his servant, Go up now, look toward the sea. And he went up, and looked, and said, There is nothing. And he said, Go again seven times. 44 And it came to pass at the seventh time, that he said, Behold, there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea, like a man's hand. And he said, Go up, say unto Ahab, Prepare thy chariot, and get thee down that the rain stop thee not. 45 And it came to pass in the mean while, that the heaven was black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode, and went to Jezreel.”
“12 He said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return. 13 And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come” – St. Luke 19:12-13
WEEK ONE REVIEW
1. In our first lesson, we examined:
a. What should be the main objective for all Christians,
b. What is prayer and fasting? and
c. Examples of fasting and prayer in the Old Testament
2. We learned that:
a. The Christian’s primary responsibility is to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts” and to “live soberly, righteously, and godly” while “looking for that blessed hope.”
b. One of the Christian’s greatest weapons is prayer and fasting.
i. Prayer is communication with God.
ii. Fasting is voluntary and total abstinence from food for a set time for the purpose of devoting oneself to seeking God.
c. Only one fast was specifically commanded in the O.T. (on the Day of Atonement – Leviticus 16:29-31.)
d. But people often fasted when they wanted God to hear their prayers:
i. In times of war or the threat of it
ii. When loved ones were sick
iii. When seeking God's forgiveness
iv. When faced with impending danger
v. When seeking God's will
e. The purpose of such fasting:
i. To humble themselves by "afflicting their souls"
ii. Believing that such humiliation would be pleasing in God's sight (and it often was)
WEEK TWO REVIEW
1. In lesson two, we examined Fasting in the New Testament. We considered the following:
a. Our Lord fasted in time of temptation.
b. He taught His disciples about fasting on several occasions.
c. He foretold of a time in which His disciples would fast.
d. That there are times when the combination of fasting and prayer might be more efficacious than prayer alone.
e. That the early church fasted in their service to the Lord.
f. That Paul regarded fasting as a mark of his ministry.
g. That prayer and fasting often go hand in hand, utilized whenever there was a strong desire for God's blessing and guidance.
h. Husbands and wives may deprive each other of sexual intimacy by mutual consent so that they can devote themselves to fasting and prayer for a specific period. St. Matthew 9:14-15 which states, “14 Then came to him the disciples of John, saying, Why do we and the Pharisees fast oft, but thy disciples fast not? 15 And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the bridechamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? but the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then shall they fast.”
The following is pertinent to consider:
Þ Fasting was required by the law of Moses as stated in Leviticus 23:27-29, “Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement: it shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord. 28 And ye shall do no work in that same day: for it is a day of atonement, to make an atonement for you before the Lord your God. 29 For whatsoever soul it be that shall not be afflicted in that same day, he shall be cut off from among his people.”
Þ This Holy Day is the one day of the year on which God commanded His people to fast. Failure to do so was a sin for which a person would be cut off from the assembly. Christ, having never sinned, would have fasted yearly on that day. Likewise, the disciples, being Jews and being instructed by Christ, would have also observed the Day of Atonement properly by fasting.
Þ When Christ responded in Matthew 9:15, saying, “the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from [the disciples], and then they will fast,” He was referring to regular fasting like the ones that John’s disciples and the Pharisees practiced. He was saying that the day would come when His disciples would frequently “afflict their souls.” However, the point He was making was that this regular fasting was not a prerequisite since Jesus their “bridegroom” was with them.
Þ It should be noted that over time, the Pharisees, and other religious leaders added many more days of fasting which largely became an empty, ritualist endeavor. An example of this practice is recorded St. Luke 18:9-13, “9 And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: 10 Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. 11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. 12 I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.” The objective of their fast was not consistent with Isaiah 58 teachings of fasting. For them, it was not used to afflict their souls, it was an exercise in futility, false spirituality.
Þ St. Matthew 17:14-21 says, “14 And when they were come to the multitude, there came to him a certain man, kneeling down to him, and saying, 15 Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatick, and sore vexed: for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water. 16 And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him.17 Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me. 18 And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour. 19 Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out? 20 And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. 21 Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting” - St. Matthew 17:14-21. Jesus did not rebuke His disciples for lack of fasting, He rebuked them for “unbelief.
THE EFFECTUAL FERVENT PRAYER REQUIRES CONSTANCY
Jesus’ parable in Luke 19 teaches us that the servants of God must also “occupy” hostile territory until He returns. The word does not mean just to stand still; rather, it means “to busy oneself with trade.” Simply put, we are to do more than just “fill a place” in God’s Kingdom – we are to consistently carry out “spiritual business” for the King. And just what is our primary business? We find the answer to this in 1 Timothy 2:1, “I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men.”
Þ “First of all”: This does not refer to time; it refers to importance. What comes next is of first importance in the heart and mind of Paul. Paul’s broader context following is the public worship of Christians, so this begins a series of instructions for those meetings.
Þ Supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks: These terms describe the wide categories of our communication with God. These are the kinds of prayers that should be offered when God’s people come together.
Þ Supplication is simply asking for something. Prayer should never be all asking, but we should ask in bold confidence from God’s Word.
Þ Prayers is a broad word, referring to all communication with the Lord.
Þ Intercessions refer to the requests we make on behalf of others. As we pray, there must be a time when the needs of others find a place in our prayer before God’s throne.
Þ Giving of thanks is an essential part of our walk with God. Those who lack a basic sense of gratitude in their lives lack a basic Christian virtue.
The Puritan preacher John Bunyan once said, “We can do more than pray after we have prayed, but we cannot do more than pray until we have prayed.” One of the powerful prayer words in the New Testament is “supplication,” but we strip it of much of its authority when we define it only according to the English dictionary. There the sense is basically confined to “begging.”
However, the scriptural root words also carry the sense of “binding.” Yes, supplication involves making our requests known to God, but it extends the concept further. To supplicate is to ask with passion, persistence and focus. Supplication is the prayer of occupation – “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done!” Apostolic believers are equipped to do more than entreat; we are equipped toenforce. “And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” - Matthew 16:18. Jesus’ promise that “the gates of hell shall not prevail” against the church is irrevocably connected to the actions of the church in the next verse: “And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven” - Matthew 16:19. The ancient custom was that the gates of a city functioned as the place of public discourse and official decree. Jesus is teaching that the church has been empowered by His victory on the cross to pray in ways that stop the strategies of hell dead in their tracks.
Supplication moves into the confusion caused by the fall of man – broken hearts, broken homes, broken health, broken relationships – and begins to bind up broken things, bringing them back to God’s original design. It is the business of believers to intervene in any situations that are not what Heaven intends them to be and see them through in passionate, persistent, focused prayer until they once again agree with God’s Word. Our binding and loosing accomplish on earth what has already been willed in Heaven; we don’t make things happen, but our supplication does release them to happen. It is God’s power and timing coupled with our participation and tenacity.
This “binding” is not limited to our concept of something being tied up; it could be even more accurately understood by our concept of a “binding contract.” If I signed a contract with a company to provide a particular service and they are failing to do so, all I need to do is to point out the specific terms of our original agreement because the terms and conditions of that written agreement are binding.
In this world, Satan always attempts to construct things that are totally out of line with God’s blueprint, situations that contradict God’s Word, and contravene God’s plan for His people. He has a blatant disregard and a callous contempt for the Bible, the contract that governs the life of every saint. But God has appointed us to be the on-site observers of His work on earth, and we are to occupy until the owner returns. That’s why we pray, “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.”
Jesus, what You paid for at the cross isn’t being done in this situation – so let Your power flow through my prayer to accomplish Your purpose. As a member of the occupying army assigned to enforce Your will, I block the adversary’s advance. According to the terms of Calvary’s contract, I bind the enemy from success in this situation. I loose on earth what You have already loosed in Heaven!
A powerful weapon like supplication is not intended to be wasted on petty, self-centered, temporal concerns. Paul elaborates on this, giving us a divine directive to pray for issues that are grander and broader than our own immediate points of personal preoccupation. “I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth” - 1 Timothy 2:1-4
We have been equipped to pray for critical, Kingdom-minded, eternal issues. We are promised influence that can affect the climate of our culture and thus create an atmosphere where people can more readily “come unto the knowledge of the truth.” It would be the ultimate act of selfishness to squander such supernatural weaponries on unimportant clashes when the war for eternal souls is being waged all around us.
Another scriptural term defining this kind of prayer is “intercession,” which in both the ancient Greek and Hebrew languages carries the same basic meaning – “to come between by chance.” This peculiar expression is used of Jacob in Genesis 29:11, when he “lighted” upon a certain place, and tarried there all night. Only after he had awakened from his glorious dream did he realize that an apparently random place of stopping had become the cornerstone of His entire life – “surely the Lord is in this place!”
This is the very essence of intercession: circumstances and impressions that seem random, catching our attention when we least expect them, are not accidental but providential. If we can just perceive that our day-to-day circumstances are ordained by the Holy Spirit, we will learn to respond to them with authoritative praying, confident that God desires us to “stand in the gap” (Ezekiel 22:30) at that very moment. Not every believer has the calling of an intercessor, but every believer is called to intercede when God prompts. Think about it – you may be the only representative of Heaven that God has on the scene to enforce His will!
Intercession occurs when believers realize that God has ordained “boundaries of blessing” around His people and that unless someone prays Satan will always try to violate the boundary line. We were not saved merely to be helpless bystanders in this conflict; you and I have been anointed and appointed to monitor the situation on Heaven’s behalf, and then step in to occupy the territory every time the devil crosses the line.
Christianity is not a spectator sport – it is a fight to the finish! First of all, we need prayer warriors with sufficient spiritual sensitivity to understand that God has put them “on location” to travail in prayer for a world that otherwise would experience only sin’s consequences without hope of Divine intervention. We are – quite literally – the occupying forces for a Kingdom not of this earth.
Some two thousand years have passed on the calendar since our Lord Jesus Christ made his historic declaration from a mountain near Jerusalem, declaring an end to major combat operations with Hell. But as he stated that day, the prayer warriors engaged in saving and reconciling fallen humanity still have dangerous work to complete. His words echoed with prophetic authority: “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world” - Matthew 28:18-20.
The Day of Pentecost happened because of supplication, “These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren”- Acts 1:14.
WE STAND HERE AS HEAVEN’S AMBASSADOR AND WE MUST SAY, “GOD’S KINGDOM COME HERE, AND GOD’S WILL BE DONE NOW!”
Speak Heaven’s covenant – pray the Word of God! The Bible is God’s binding contract over your life – hold the devil to its terms!