March 10 - Fervent

“The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.”  (James 5:16b)

As we prepare for battle, we certainly would want to know how to pray  prayers that are effective, that “avail much.” This verse indicates that our  prayers need to be fervent, but what does it mean to pray fervently?

The word “fervent” has been defined as “passionate; heartfelt;  wholehearted.” Those descriptions help us realize that fervent prayer is not a  matter of the words, the style or the length. It’s a matter of the heart, a  whole heart. The many words of a “babbling fool” are powerless since their  goal is to impress, not to implore with a whole heart.  

Fervent is the opposite of half-hearted. A half-hearted prayer, even of a  righteous one, will not avail much. We need to believe with all our hearts that  He alone has the power to convict; He alone has the power to save; He alone  has the power to restore.

James doesn’t give us any more detail defining or describing fervent  prayer. There isn’t a to-do list like “Set your alarm to go off every hour and  then pray, totally focused, for 5 minutes every hour for 10 days.” Wouldn’t  we like a description like that? Then we could feel like we had met the mark.  We had achieved. We had accomplished. Given a specific 5-step program, we  would do the 5 steps and then be proud of our accomplishment. We would  lose sight of our need for a moment-by-moment dependence on Him. We  need Him every moment to guide us in our prayers so we stay in line with  His will and His Kingdom purposes.

Let’s wholeheartedly seek His face so we can be on the same page as  our Commander, seeking His will and accepting His commandments so we  can be more effective and fervent prayer warriors in this battle.

Today’s Action:  
Let’s read Proverbs 10 together, asking Him to direct us in the way of  the wise, keeping us from the way of the wicked and the folly of the fool.

“The wise of heart will receive commandments, but a babbling fool  will come to ruin.” (Proverbs 10:8) ESV