Prayer is the Key

Write From My Heart

August 11, 2020

Prayer is the Key

James 5:16 (KJV)

… The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

James 5:16 (NIV)

… The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.

James 5:16 (NLT)

… The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.

James 5:16 (NASB)

… The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.

            There are times when I like to take a single passage of scripture and compare various versions to gain a better understanding of the intended meaning. Honestly, I like the sense of urgency and dedication evident in the King James Version of this text. Most people in today’s Christian circles have abandoned the KJV because of its old or formal language or claiming it to be too difficult to understand. As if to prove their point, my computer highlighted the word “availeth” as a misspelled word and wanted to autocorrect it to “avails.” But as you might guess, all this chatter about language and word usage is not the point of today’s devotion. Prayer is!

            The simple point is that prayer is important, it is special, it is not to be taken lightly. In and of ourselves, no one is righteous. To be righteous means to be in “right standing” with God, and we cannot do that alone. We need the blood of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to cleanse us from our sins, both obvious sins of commission and less obvious sins of omission. So the first step is striving to align ourselves with God’s standards and purposes for our lives.

            The next step is to clearly understand that it is not the person who is powerful, effective, produces wonderful results, or accomplishes much. Those descriptors are directly linked to prayer. It is prayer that is powerful, effective, produces wonderful results, and accomplishes much.

            Think about this and it makes sense. If the person praying is doing everything they can to align themselves with God’s purposes, then the items of prayer will reflect those goals. And as we grow in this understanding our prayers become less frivolous, narrow, and self-centered—they become urgent prayers for the God’s will and purpose to be done in our lives and in our nation. Those, my dear friend, become powerful prayers! Yes, there are certainly times when it is appropriate to pray for specific needs and requests—unquestionably, and without a doubt—but still within the context of God’s will and purposes rather than our own wishes and desires.

Finally it is worth noting the Kings James Version uses an additional word, “fervent” which carries the meaning of passion and great intensity. I encourage you to deepen your daily prayer life and begin to focus on seeking God’s will for yourself and for our nation with passion and great intensity. God hears our prayers!