Are stories about “great prayer warriors” encouraging or discouraging to you? Let’s take the story of George Mueller for example. Mueller started and maintained an orphanage in Bristol, England, which was home to hundreds of orphans over the years. The needs of Mueller’s ministry were great, but so were his prayers. On one occasion, there was no food for breakfast. Mueller instructed the children to gather in the dining room even though there was no food, and then he thanked God for the food He would provide. Soon after Mueller’s prayer, a knock came at the door. A baker had felt the need to bake some bread for them and delivered it right to their door! Then a second knock came at the door. It was a milkman whose cart of milk had broken down in the street. To keep the milk from spoiling, the man asked if Mueller would take it off his hands. This miraculous story of Mueller’s prayer and God’s provision is just one among many! Now, if you are like me, this story can leave you feeling like Mueller had some special gift that you and I cannot attain. Surely, people like you and I could never be “prayer warriors” like George Muller!
Another example of a prayer warrior that we may compare ourselves to is Elijah. In James 5:16-18 we read, “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.” Wow! George Mueller prayed, and he got food for hundreds of hungry children. Elijah prayed and stopped the rain for three years! What do you and I have to show for our prayers? What was the key to effective prayer for Muller and Elijah? And can we have it too? Well, James 4:17 says that Elijah “was a man subject to like passions as we are,” so yes, we can have what Elijah had!
What made Mueller’s prayers and Elijah’s prayers effective was righteousness and fervency. Righteousness simply means that they were in a right relationship with God. It is not that they were so virtuous that they deserved to have their prayers answered. None of us could ever merit God’s power in our lives, but all of us can have a right relationship with Him. The first question to ask ourselves is whether or not there is anything between our souls and our Savior. If the way is clear, then we are in a position to have our prayers answered.
The second thing that makes prayer effective is fervency. Fervency may be an intimidating word to us because we often picture someone on their knees, crying out to God for hours on end. While fervency may look like that at times, fervency is not defined by emotions, hours, or sore knees. Fervency simply means passion or intensity. In other words, it’s not about an emotion we conjure up; it’s just an expression of something we already feel. If we have real needs, real cares, real burdens, we don’t have to work up fervency. If we are honest with the Lord about what is on our hearts, the fervency (passion) will be evident. Why were Mueller’s and Elijah’s prayers fervent? They were fervent because they had real needs and they saw God as the only One who could meet those real needs. We may not be Mueller or Elijah, but we can be righteous and fervent in prayer if we remember three things about the nature of prayer.
First, we need to remember that faith in prayer is about focus. James 1:5-6 says, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering.” While the first verse is very comforting, the second can sound ominous. How do we know if we are asking in faith? Well James 1 continues in verse 8, “A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.” A double minded man is simply someone who is the opposite of focused. His attention is divided between two objects. He is trying to split his faith between God’s wisdom and the world’s wisdom. However, when we try to split our faith between God and the world, we are really only putting our faith in the world. We cannot expect to receive from God when we have our hand out to the world. Faith in prayer is not a feeling; it’s a focus. Faith in prayer is being single-minded, wholly seeking God as the object of our prayer.
Similarly, we need to remember that power in prayer is not found in the person praying but in the Person to Whom we are praying. While we must be in a right relationship with God in order to have a vibrant prayer life, we are not the source of power in prayer. Prayer does not work because we are so good, we pray for a certain amount of time, or we follow a specific pattern or prayer list. While virtue, time, and prayer lists are all helpful, they do not make our prayers powerful. Psalm 57:2 says, “I will cry unto God most high; Unto God that performeth all things for me.” The psalmist recognizes that he is not the generator of power in prayer; God is the generator of power in prayer. George Mueller and Elijah’s prayers were not powerful because of who they were but because of Who God is. Although He is sovereign, in His sovereignty, God has chosen to respond to our prayers! We don’t have to perform in prayer; God is the One who performs all things for us because we pray to Him. Rather than analyzing our virtues, our stopwatch, or our prayer lists, we should spend more time praying to the One who can make all the difference. The power of prayer depends on the One we pray to—the most high God.
Another thing to remember is that prayer is about a relationship, not ritual. When we view prayer as a religious ritual, then we lack fervency. When we approach prayer as a conversation with our Father and our Lord, then we can’t help but be fervent because we are having a real conversation about real life with a real omnipotent God! If prayer does not come naturally, it is probably because we are not in a right relationship with our Heavenly Father. For instance, if you are on good terms with your spouse, you talk to him or her openly and frequently. If you are not on good terms, communication with him or her may feel like a chore. So, it is with our Heavenly Father. Prayer is a natural and essential part of our relationship with God. Prayer is simply having a conversation with God. It’s talking to God and expecting to hear back from Him through His Word. While it is not wrong to have a prayer schedule, prayer does not have to be a scheduled event. Prayer can be a frequent and ongoing conversation that we have with the Lord throughout the day. Psalm 55:16 says, “Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: And he shall hear my voice.” When we view prayer as just part of a healthy relationship with the Lord, fervency will characterize our prayers.
With all this in mind, it makes sense that prayer is not something we are commanded to figure out but rather something we are commanded to do. If you are like me, sometimes you may spend more time trying to comprehend how prayer works than you do praying. When we are so concerned with understanding how God works and how we can make sure we are “doing it right,” we are often paralyzed in prayerlessness. The truth is we will never completely comprehend God because . . . well, He is God! The good news is that God never commanded us to figure out prayer. He simply commanded us to do it. I Thessalonians 5:17 says, “Pray without ceasing.” Are you in a right relationship with the Lord? Then you will pray. Do you have cares, needs, burdens? Then your prayers will be fervent. Are you praying to the One who can make all the difference? Then your prayers will have power! Your prayers can make just as much of a difference as George Mueller’s or Elijah’s prayers did because you have the same God that they did. Let’s resolve to stop trying to comprehend how prayer works and just start praying like it works! Because it does.