“Great Things for Grievous Times”
TOPIC:“The Greatest Power In the Universe”
by Rev. Dr. Reg Dunlap
TEXT:James 5:16
“The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much”
After being a Christian these many years, I am fully persuaded that prayer is the greatest force in the world. Not only that, but prayer is the greatest need in the life of the believer. The tragic thing is that there are multitudes of believers who have not made prayer a real part of their lives.
Prayer is an essential exercise in the spiritual life of every child of God. It is vital to their spiritual growth. The life of the believer is sustained and supported by prayer. It is as vital to the life of the spirit as breathing is to the life of the body. That is why Harold Lindsell, in his book, When You Pray, wrote: “To be a Christian without praying is no more possible than to be alive without breathing.”
Or consider these convicting words of James S. Stewart, great missionary statesman of the past, who wrote: “The man who does not pray, who does not have even five minutes a day in his own room face to face with God and heart to heart with Christ, is simply playing with his soul.” And as Dr. Stewart goes on to say: “I am saying that without prayer there is no Christian life possible that is worthy of the name. Why? Because it is down in the channel of prayer that the power of God gets into a man.” I fully agree!
Now before we go any further, let me describe what prayer is according to the Bible. Prayer is the outpouring of one's soul to God in the name of Christ and through the power of the Holy Spirit for those things He would have us receive. It is more than talking TO God, it is talking WITH God. It is not a monologue, but a dialogue between God and man. It is God's answering to man's asking.
And remember: We Christian's pray not to a power, but to a Supreme Being who is a Person. We speak to a real Somebody - a loving, kind, listening, hearing, answering, heavenly Father. Let us discover some interesting truths concerning prayer as found in our text.
I.
Consider, first of all, the DESCRIPTION of the PERSON of prayer. Notice the kind of person whose prayers will be heard: “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man…” Phillips has it: “a . . .