Who is like unto thee, o! Lord among the gods? Who is like thee, You are glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders, Alleluia. Ex 15:11
Give ear to my words, O LORD, consider my meditation. Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my God: for unto thee will I pray. My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up. For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee. The foolish shall not stand in thy sight: thou hatest all workers of iniquity. Thou shalt destroy them that speak leasing: the LORD will abhor the bloody and deceitful man. Ps 5:1-6 (KJV)
In case you joined us recently, the Lord commissioned us as a ministry to write on this subject “Prayer” every Wednesday and also to pray for one another, I believe as you tag along with us your prayer life will improve as many has testified in Jesus name.
Let’s refresh our memory on what James the disciple said concerning effective, fervent prayers of the righteous:
The intense prayer of the righteous is very powerful.—James 5:16b
God promises all believers that if we live righteously and pray fervently, our prayers will be effective and produce significant results. How do we treat a promise like this? We might argue, “But I do pray, and nothing happens!” Our problem is that we do not hold ourselves accountable to the Scripture. God’s Word says that prayer ought to accomplish much. If our prayer life is not accomplishing much, what should we do? If we are praying but seeing no results, should we conclude that this promise is untrue? Should we excuse this Scripture as impractical and unrealistic? Or should we examine ourselves to see if we meet its conditions?
James says that fervent prayer avails much. Could it be that we are not as fervent in our praying as we should be? Fervent prayer means we do not quit easily. Fervent prayer means we purposefully spend sufficient time in intercession. Fervent prayer means we cry out to the Father, sometimes in tears, with our heart and soul. Fervent prayer comes as the Holy Spirit assists us in praying with groanings too deep for words (Rom. 8:26).
According to James, our righteousness will ensure effective prayer. God’s standard of righteousness is different from ours, for He looks beyond our actions, even beyond our thoughts, directly to our hearts. How then should we hold ourselves accountable if our prayers are accomplishing little? If nothing happens when we pray, the problem is not with God. The problem is with us, for God’s word is absolutely reliable. If we adhere to what God requires, He will lead us to pray for things that align with His purposes, and God will answer our prayers in a mighty way.
Someone is not yet convinced about what Brother James said, not to worry. Let us contact one of our fore fathers who had a practical experience to share with us to find out what he did when he became tired of the way his life was, when he could longer hid, when he became tired of being in slavery even with his large family, how a staircase was built over night from heaven to earth just because of one man and how his life changed after that encounter and how we in the new covenant by Christ also can be partakers of same. Let’s find out what he did:
“And he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.” John 1:51
Yes, to our faith this sight is plain even at this day. We do see Heaven opened. Jesus Himself has opened that kingdom to all believers. We gaze into the place of mystery and glory, for He has revealed it to us. We shall enter it soon, for He is the way.
Now we see the explanation of Jacob’s ladder. Between earth and Heaven there is a holy commerce; prayer ascends, and answers come down, by the way of Jesus, the Mediator. We see this ladder when we see our Lord. In Him a stairway of light now furnishes a clear passage to the throne of the Most High.
Let us use it, and send up by it the messengers of our prayers. We shall live the angelic life ourselves if we run up to Heaven in intercession, and lay hold upon the blessings of the covenant, and then descend again to scatter those gifts among the sons of men.
This choice sight which Jacob only saw in a dream we will turn into a bright reality. This very day we will be up and down the ladder each hour; climbing in communion, and coming down in labor to save our fellow-men. This is thy promise, O Lord Jesus, let us joyfully see it fulfilled.
How intense is your prayers? Will you join us to climb the ladder today in praying and interceding on behalf of our brethren, who are residing in some parts of the world where Christian fellowships are forbidden? Surly the Lord will bless you and all your needs He will meet. Finally let us continue in prayer as Apostle Paul told us in Col 4:2.
Remain blessed in the Lord.
