Being Effective

Based on notes from listening to “One Prayer: Make Us Effective” by Perry Noble — June 29, 2008

James 5:14-18 (The Message)

Prayer to Be Reckoned With

13-15Are you hurting? Pray. Do you feel great? Sing. Are you sick? Call the church leaders together to pray and anoint you with oil in the name of the Master. Believing-prayer will heal you, and Jesus will put you on your feet. And if you’ve sinned, you’ll be forgiven—healed inside and out.

16-18Make this your common practice: Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you can live together whole and healed. The prayer of a person living right with God is something powerful to be reckoned with. Elijah, for instance, human just like us, prayed hard that it wouldn’t rain, and it didn’t—not a drop for three and a half years. Then he prayed that it would rain, and it did. The showers came and everything started growing again.

Through James’ letter we are reminded of our most effective weapon: prayer. This passage from James refers to the prophet Elijah who challenged the people to take a stand (1 Kings 18:21)

Elijah went before the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.”
But the people said nothing.

Elijah challenged the people of Israel to take a stand by following the true God. I face that same challenge. Instead of going along with whatever is pleasant and easy and thus worshiping a false god (myself), I need to take a stand for the Lord.

Later in 1st Kings, Elijah challenges the prophets of Baal. In verse 38, God flashed fire form heaven in answer to Elijah’s prayer. We probably won’t ever see fire fall from heaven, but God will make resources available to help us to accomplish his purposes. We can have faith that whatever God asks us to do, he will provide what we need to carry it through

In verse 41, Elijah hears a rainstorm coming while King Ahab hears nothing. God was stirring up the storm inside of Elijah before he was doing anything around Elijah. If God is going to use me for great work, he will always stir up a storm inside of me. God has a plan for each of our lives, we just have to be open to hearing God stir up that storm in us.

Prayer should come first but prayer is not about manipulation. Prayer is not a formula. Prayer is cooperation with God — by asking him what He wants us to do in our life

How to have an effective prayer life

• Ask God what he wants to do in me
  • Procrastination — afraid to take step and thus keep putting God off
  • Fear of criticism — only people that have time to criticize aren’t doing what God called them to do

• Ask God what He wants to do around me
  • Blindfolded to fact that God wants to do something around me that is greater than there is anything he can do for me
  • Elijah asked God to see the world as God saw it (1 Kings 18:42)
  • Will begin to see things differently

• Ask God what he wants to do through me
  • Don’t give up on God — When prayer isn’t answered
    • It may not be God’s will
    • It may not be God’s time

• Ask God what He wants to do for us
  • God sees what brings us joy
  • God know what we want
  • God wants to bless us in ways we can’t imagine

God, what is it that you’ve created me for?

God, teach me to see as You see.

God, what is the next step You want for me to take?

God, I trust You to bless me as You want because I trust You as my heavenly Father, knowing You love me.

In Jesus’ name,

Amen.