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

“Fervent”, translated from the Greek “energeo”, which means: “to be active” “be mighty in” “to be at work” “to be effective” “to produce”. The implication is that a praying person will be effective as he applies much effort and time in the praying.

Further . . .
“Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ, saluteth you, always labouring fervently for you in prayers, that ye may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God.” (Colossians 4:12)

Allow me also draw your attention to the words, “laboring fervently”. From the Greek, “agonizomai”, which means “to struggle” “to compete for a prize” “to contend with an adversary” “to fight, labor, wrestle for” “to exert oneself” “to strive earnestly” “to carry on a war”.

Dear believer, please do not think me arrogant in asking this question, rather be honest with yourself and with God. However, Beloved, how much of your (and my) prayer life could be defined in these ways? The greatest missing element in the average believer’s praying is the fight . . . the contending . . . the “standing in the gap” for . . . the ask, and keeping on asking, the seek, and keeping on seeking, the knock, and keeping on knocking!

Our world needs more fighters on their knees, for the Kingdom’s sake, and the sake of a needy world! Come on church, Pray On!

161 YEARS AGO … AMERICA’S 3RD GREAT AWAKENING BEGAN!
Oh, it did not look like it … not at the beginning! Jeremiah Lanphier had been passing out handbills, announcing a “Prayer Meeting” at the North Dutch Church on Fulton Street, downtown New York City during the lunch hour from Noon till 1:00 p.m. It was to include “singing, prayer and exhortation – no one to take more than 5 minutes” or a bell would ring to tell you to stop and let someone else pray.

At noon, September 23, 1857, he climbed the stairs to the room on the Third Floor where the meeting was to be held. He knelt at noon and began praying … ALONE! Ten minutes later … still alone … 20 minutes … alone … 30 minutes into the prayer time and he heard the door downstairs open as one man climbed the stairs and without saying a word, joined him on his knees to pray … then another … then another … until by 1:00 there were six men in prayer. SIX MEN … and it began with just ONE! The next week, there were 20.

“By the first week in October the meetings were being held daily and the number increased to FORTY. By the fourth week attendance averaged over ONE HUNDRED with many under conviction and inquiring how they might be saved! New York was to see a great need for God when on October 18th, a financial panic seized the city, collapsing the economy into a brief but steep recession. ‘The Fulton Street Meetings,’ as they became known, soon filled all the rooms at the North Dutch Church and spilled over into the nearby John Street Methodist Church. Soon many other churches were opening their doors at noon and before work in the morning. Even police stations and firehouses opened their doors to meet the need for places to pray.

Within SIX months, TEN THOUSAND businessmen were gathering for prayer daily! Although the revival was the most spectacular in New York City, businessmen’s prayer meetings sprang up in many cities around the country. Within the next two years approximately ONE MILLION CONVERTS were added to the churches of America.” (Excerpt taken from “The One Year Book of Christian History,” written by E. Michael and Sharon Rusten, Tyndale Publishers)

Are we ever going to stop our flashy, showy, Christian entertainment in the church in America today to ask ourselves “WHY?” … why, if we are “doing such a great job” in our "Contemporary Worship Services" in America … have we not yet impressed the heart of God … that He would “visit” us again in God empowered REVIVAL and SPIRITUAL AWAKENING?!

To quote Leonard Ravenhill … “The one main reason WHY there is no heaven sent REVIVAL in AMERICA today is because WE ARE CONTENT TO LIVE WITHOUT IT!”

We do not deserve it … but oh, wouldn’t it be awesome to see God exalted again in America, with millions giving their heart and life to Jesus Christ … the only source of forgiveness, freedom from sin and eternal life! Oh LORD, hear … Oh LORD, come, visit, move … REVIVE and AWAKEN … FOR YOUR GLORY!
Church, Pray On!

Good praying often requires preparation. For example, Jesus commanded His followers with the words "watch and pray."
Also, Paul challenged all believers when he wrote, under the Holy Spirit's influence, "continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving." (Col. 4:2)
Apparently, watching has a vital role in our prayer activities!
The Greek word for "watch" is "gregoreo", which means, basically, "to be awake or vigilant." Webster's defines "watch" as "keeping awake in order to guard" . . . or, "to be on the alert."
In boot camp, one of my D.I.s always used the phrase, "Be aware of what's goin' on!"
The wise intercessor is aware of the needs around him, and the needs of the world (he is well informed), and he is aware of the Spirit's promptings, as the Spirit always knows the Father's will. Listen for local, national, and world news, with wisdom. Read about mission activities and needs. Be ready to pray with wisdom and insight . . . always asking the Spirit to guide you.
Church . . . Pray Attention . . . Pray On!

"In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.
2 Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.
3 And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.
4 And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.
5 Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.
6 Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar:
7 And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.
8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us? Then said I, Here am I; send me." (Isaiah 6:1-8)
It would do wonders for our world if every Christian had an Isaiah Experience each day. Far too many have lost the sense of the Holiness of God! You must never forget Who it is that you are relating to and serving. You serve a Holy God! His presence is Holy! Yes, He wants you in a deep, personal, intimate relationship with Him, but none of that changes Who He is. You must always approach Him in the understanding that He is the Almighty God! But, He desires you absolutely approach Him!
Beloved, somehow God gave this vision, or experience, to Isaiah. Isaiah “saw” these things! And because of what he saw, some things in him were changed forever! Allow me to point out a few things.
First in verse 1, God’s presence filled the Temple – His glory is everywhere!
This was a Holy place! The result is powerful worship! This worship was not based on the angels, nor on the gifts of singers, nor even the charisma of a preacher! This worship experience (as all should be) was based only on the Holiness of the full Presence of God!
My friend, for you to be effective for the Kingdom of God, you must place a high priority on worship of the King, both personally and corporately. And beloved, if you ever leave a worship experience feeling less than satisfied, because of the music, or the people, or the prayers, or the preaching, you were not worshiping the Holy Presence of God, you were worshiping yourself!
Now notice verse 5 “Woe is me!”
Believer, you can never be in the Holy Presence of God and not see and feel a contrast between His Holiness and your anything less! Worship in the Presence of the Holy God should cause you to examine yourself in the glow of His Light. Then be honest enough before God to repent, confess, and become cleansed. If you cannot experience God somehow in the course of your worship (in the Word spoken or sung), that may be the first thing you repent of!
Lastly in verse 8, Isaiah heard the Voice of God!
Here is what I believe is happening in these verses of Isaiah. Isaiah finds himself caught up in this tremendous worship experience where the Presence of the LORD is powerfully overwhelming. Beloved, you are the only reason you might not experience this each week!
Isaiah sees the Holiness of God, and by contrast, he sees his own sinfulness, and also the sins of his own nation. He confesses, repents, and God forgives and cleanses. Now, Isaiah is in right standing before God, and he is therefore privileged to hear God speak.
It is as if Isaiah is listening to a conversation in the Throne Room. God is either speaking to angelic beings, or possibly a dialog within the Godhead (Trinity) Itself. And instead of God directly speaking to Isaiah, He asks the question: “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?”
God allowed Isaiah to see the need, and then volunteer to meet the need! Isaiah then said, in response to what he heard: “Here am I; send me!”
Worshipper, sometimes God will direct you to go meet the need; sometimes He just reveals to you the need. In either case, He expects you will have made yourself available, both to Him and what He is doing! This should be you living a yielded, surrendered, life to your Holy God, daily!
I challenge you to make this your priority for the rest of your life; whether that is one more day, or 40 more years. God is not bound by time, but with God, timing is everything, and He has an expectation that you will show up on time! ---In other words, when He is ready to move or act, He expects you will have made yourself available, both to Him and what He is doing. Pray On!

Several years ago, when the LORD was encouraging and training myself and my church in prayer, He spoke to me in my prayer time before Services on Sunday morning. In that prayer time He directed me to ask our membership, during the invitation, to list the names of the friends and family members whom they knew to be lost on a tablet of paper I had placed on the LORD’s Table.
My instructions to the church were to print first and last names legibly. It wasn’t long before the people had flooded the Table area waiting their turn to add names to the list. The purpose for the list was to pray for the salvation of all who were listed. I gave some basic suggestions as to how to pray, and I shared that I would copy the list so each person praying could have one to take home with them. I also shared that I was to then cut all the names from the list into small slips of paper, each containing one name only. These slips would be placed in a decorative container that I dubbed “The Prayer Pot”. This pot would remain in the sanctuary on the LORD’s Table at all times. I encouraged the people to feel free, as the LORD might lead them, to come to the table, take a few names from the pot, slip to the altar and pray for their salvation. They were free to do this at any point in our worship service, even if I were preaching.
After that service, I checked the list and discovered, to my surprise and pleasure, over 350 names listed. I made my copies then placed the individual slips with names into the “Prayer Pot”. On Monday morning I went into the sanctuary alone to pray through the names. My intention was to name each person before the LORD, pleading for their souls. Each name was important to me even though I did not know most of them. I did not rush through the names, and the first time I prayed through the slips I spent nearly five hours.
At some point, I came upon one slip of paper that simply said: “The Smith family”. I found myself becoming agitated because I had clearly instructed our congregation to print first and last names. I said to the LORD, “Do You know how many Smiths there are?” To that brilliant question I heard my LORD say, “Yes, Jerry. I know each one of them. I died for all of the Smiths! You just pray for all the Smiths to be saved!”
This was a very humbling moment in time for me. I began to pray for Smiths as though I knew them all intimately.
Unusual things began to happen in our church. First of all, for the next several weeks, during each invitation I gave at the end of our Sunday Morning Services, people were coming to Jesus for salvation. Not only that, but there were always two to three people named Smith. To make it even better, these Smiths were not related to one another.
Secondly, I began to receive reports of people from this list being saved from all over. Many of whom lived far away. One deacon shared with me about how his niece, who lived in New Mexico, woke up one Sunday morning under the conviction she needed to go to church. She did not know where to go as she had never in her life been in a church for any reason. She walked down the street and found herself in a small Baptist church. After hearing the message and the invitation of the pastor, she gave her heart to Jesus. Her name had been on our list.
I began to have strangers drop in to my office unannounced with some kind of personal crisis to share, and each one found salvation and peace from our LORD before they had left. Each one had been on our prayer list. Before the LORD had called me away from that church, I was aware of 57 persons from that list who had been saved.
On day in Sacramento, California, while conducting a seminar on prayer, I had shared this story of the “Prayer Pot” as a way to encourage praying people into the Kingdom. After the seminar, a young woman approached me with a question. “During what time period were you praying for Smiths”, she asked? I gave this some thought and gave her my best answer as to when it began, and asked her, why?
She explained that she had been saved during that time, and that she had been living in Chicago. She concluded by saying her maiden name was Smith.
I continue to pray for the salvations of persons named Smith, and God continues to bring Smiths into my life and knowledge. I have many friends named Smith, and some of my church members in my present church are named Smith. My precious daughter-in-law was a Smith, and that is another awesome testimony of the LORD's working in our lives.
The purpose of my sharing this was to encourage you, and your churches, to begin praying earnestly for known lost persons by name. Ok, you do not need a "Prayer Pot", but you do need a list of persons needing salvation!