“An upright man’s prayer when it keeps at work, is very powerful.”
James 5:16 Charles B. Williams translation
My thought’s here on effectual prayer began with something my husband David had written; “You won’t/don’t have any grace to lead someone you won’t pray for.” He went on to say, “At best, without prayer, you could only lead them into being a little different version of yourself. And that usually has a lot of conflict along the way. You cannot, without prayer FOR them, lead them into the objective growth, found only in Christ. And….you won’t pray for someone you don’t love. You may pray ABOUT them but that position of prayer is already tainted with your judgments and disappointments regarding their life and spirituality. Leading Christians into growth requires the leader to love those being discipled, with the love and mind of Christ himself, to move either one of the players past their mutual sticking spot.” DW McGrew
This kind of love and heart requires us to be absolutely free of all opinions and judgments that would hinder. I’m mindful of Jesus saying from John 5:30, I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me.
Rees Howell remarked on John 5:30 this way, “Only the impartial can know the will of God.”
Our position of quiet submission before Him, allows Him to lead, instruct and write upon our hearts. What flows from His will is effectual and dynamic in its work. Our prayers for others to be effectual must have His thoughts on all matters.
Isaiah prophesied about Jesus holding the Spirit without measure, as we find written in chapter eleven, verse three, “…His delight is in the fear of the Lord.” From this place, “He does not judge by what His eyes see or decide disputes by what His ears hear, but with righteousness he shall judge…”.
Did you notice William’s translation uses the phrase “keep at work” in our chosen verse? For our prayers to be fervent and effectual we must keep working at prayer. It’s not that we keep asking God for the same things over and over but rather that we our purposeful about remaining united with Him in our prayerful oversight. His words are creative. As we join with Him in speaking His desire, we join with Him in creation. He watches over His word to perform it.
I suppose our weariness and temptation to give up is in being moved over what we see and hear; i.e., nothing changing, getting worse, etc. BUT, we are to fix our eyes on what is not seen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. 2 Cor. 4:18. Paul went on to say, now we are to know no man after the flesh. 2 Cor. 5:16. NLT reads ~ So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view.
Jesus help us! God carries eternities view of his workmanship, so then to pray effectively for one another, we must hold His perspective. I can’t ‘know’ without becoming one with him at the very beginning of my supplications for others. Again, ‘I can do nothing on my own’ is the position of humility and submission required for ongoing, effective prayers.