How Do You Know Your Prayers Work?

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

The answer to the question in the title of this post is simple. We know our prayers work because the Word says they do. Your response might be “yeah, but,” because you can list many prayers that have not been answered.  Nonetheless, making the decision that the Word is Truth is the starting point in developing an effective prayer life. “The Word says it, I believe it. That settles it.”  Simple is not always easy, however, for several reasons: outside pressures; behavior that causes condemnation; overwhelming circumstances; and perhaps most importantly, wrong teaching about God and His relationship with us. Each one can cause our prayers to lack power.

Many times we must “unlearn” before we can learn. That is the case when it comes to prayer. We must “unlearn” the wrong approach of going to God in prayer from a beggar mentality. That is usually the result of the “I am a sinner saved by GRACE” mindset. The Truth is we WERE sinners, but according to the Word, we are now saints, fully accepted by our Heavenly Father.

We need to learn to expect our prayers to be answered as we pray according to His Word.

The most important key to the effective prayer mentioned in James 5:16b is found in the phrase “righteous man.” Righteous mean’s “right-standing.” It means there is no distance between us and God. We are welcome in His Presence.  For our prayers to be effective, we must receive the truth that we are “the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus “(2 Corinthians 5:21). So, the prayer that avails much comes from a person who understands that he is in right-standing with His Heavenly Father.  It is a person who does not allow feelings of unworthiness – condemnation, guilt, and shame – to keep him from approaching God in prayer. It is the one who comes boldly to the throne of Grace (Hebrews 4:16).

Romans 5:17 explains why our prayers are “effective and fervent” – red hot and powerful.  It says, (New King James Version) “For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.” According to the Word, GRACE and righteousness go hand-in-hand. Once we receive the gift of righteousness, GRACE (which means the favor of God) becomes accessible to our circumstances. Another way of looking at GRACE is to see it as God’s supply. As we come to God with confidence (not in ourselves but in His Love for us) our prayers become red hot and powerful and GRACE is released into the situation we are praying about.

 Prayer is most effective when we realize it is about God and His Love for us, not about us and our efforts. Part of our inheritance in Christ is having our prayers answered (1 John 5:14-15). Not only is it a sign to us of God’s love for us, but it is also a sign to an unbelieving world of our God’s goodness and willingness to provide to those who call on Him.

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