A Mighty Prayer Asks A Mighty God To Do Mighty Things

Main Scripture: James 5:13-16

Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.

In the King James version of this scripture, the 16^th verse reads, “Confess your faults one to another, and pray for one another, that ye may be healed. The effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. The title of the message that God has given me is “A Mighty Prayer Asks A Mighty God To Do Mighty Things! How Mighty Is YOUR Prayer?” I want us to really think about this question. How mighty is our prayer? How powerful is our prayer? What do we mean when we talk about “a mighty prayer?” If you look up the word “mighty” in the dictionary, you will see that it means “Imposing or awesome in size, degree, or extent.” Now, doesn’t that sound like our Lord? Isn’t our Lord awesome? Isn’t it true that nothing can surpass the greatness and the power of our Lord Jesus Christ?

Now, if we continue to break down the King James version of this scripture, we see words that don’t appear in the NIV. The first word is effectual. Effectual means “producing, or sufficient to produce a desired effect; fully adequate.” So, this means that when we pray, we are not just throwing empty words out into the air. Our prayers are to produce a DESIRED EFFECT. That desired effect could be repentance. That desired effect could be deliverance. That desired effect could be joy. That desired effect could be peace. That desired effect could be for strength. That desired effect could be to press upon the very will of God for a miracle. So when we are down on our knees, or in our prayer posture, we are conversing in a way that produces results. We’re not just getting into our postures saying “Hey God? How ya doin’? OK, I’ll holla…” NO! We are talking to the Creator of the Universe, the Savior, Our Provider, and we are not just making polite conversation.

The next word that the King James version uses in this scripture is “fervent.” “Fervent” means ‘having or showing great emotion or zeal.” It can also mean ‘fiery’, or ‘impassioned’, ‘eager’, or ‘devout.’ In other words, when we are coming before the throne of grace, we are coming with some excitement! Why? Because we know that we serve a God who can do anything but fail! We are excited to be serving the Lord, and we should be just as excited when we go to him in prayer! Aren’t you excited that you have a savior that will hear your prayers? Aren’t you excited that you have a mediator that can intercede for you? It fills me with joy that no matter what I’m going through, no matter what I’m facing, I can go to the Lord in prayer, and he WILL hear my requests!

So already, we see that when it comes to prayer, we are coming to the Lord with expectancy, and we are coming to the Lord with excitement! That expectancy is based in the very word of God! 1 John 5:14-15 says “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.” That scripture alone tells us that we can come boldly before the Lord! We can be confident when we pray, we can be confident when we communicate with Jesus! This kind of boldness is what we’re talking about when we’re talking about “a mighty prayer.” There is no doubt that we serve a mighty God, and based on this scripture, it shouldn’t be any doubt that since we operate in the spirit, we can be just as mighty!

But where do we get this “boldness” from? We serve a mighty and powerful God, so where do WE come off being “bold” before the Lord? Well, the scripture gives us instructions to be bold! The scripture tells us to approach the throne of grace in confidence! Hebrews 4:14-16 says “Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. Let us approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” And the King James version says the same thing, except that it uses the word “boldly” specifically! We don’t have to be intimidated, we don’t have to be fearful, and we don’t have to be timid! We know that nothing is too hard for God, and we see in the scripture that we have the ultimate high priest in the very Son of God! We have a mediator who knows what it’s like to be tempted. We have a mediator that knows what it’s like to feel pain and anguish! But more importantly, we have a mediator that ascended to the right hand of God! If we stand boldly on the faith that Jesus IS the Son of God, then why wouldn’t our prayers be just as powerful as our faith?

Furthermore, Ephesians 3:10-12 says “His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to his eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.” Here again is proof that God wants us to come to him boldly! God wants us to come to him using the power and authority that He has given us! The same power that we were given to be empowered by the Word to preach, the same power that we have been empowered with to sing, dance, and praise is name, is the same power that he has given so that we can approach Him boldly! We have been given authority to communicate in the spiritual realm, so why WOULD we approach the throne of grace in any matter BUT a bold one.

But when we are coming before the Lord in prayer, and when we are lifting up that mighty prayer, we should be careful about HOW we pray. Jesus gives us specific instructions in the Book of Matthew, in Matthew 6:5-7. That scripture reads “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.”

When we are praying, we don’t need to try to impress the next man, or ANY man with our words. We don’t need to try to impress people with million-dollar words. How can we lift up a mighty prayer to the very gates of heaven, if we are trying to win the favor of men? If we are doing things for man’s approval, then as the scripture says, we already have our rewards. We already have our accolades. We already have people patting us on the back. In other words, we are already believing our own press, and our own hype. But when we are praying that MIGHTY prayer, it doesn’t matter if you are in a room by yourself, or if you are in a stadium full of people! Because when you are praying that MIGHTY prayer, that BOLD prayer, that prayer of FAITH, you are standing firm on the very promises of God. You are opening your heart to God, and not to the approval of man, so if your prayers ARE heard by men, then the Holy Spirit will do what it does best. So, we don’t need to pray so that folks will tell us how well we pray. When we are praying that MIGHTY prayer, we are praying to God Himself!

We can look at some examples of how a MIGHTY prayer works! If we look at Exodus 33:12-23, the scripture reads “Moses said to the LORD, "You have been telling me, 'Lead these people,' but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. You have said, 'I know you by name and you have found favor with me.' 13 If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you. Remember that this nation is your people." The LORD replied, "My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest." Then Moses said to him, "If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?"

And the LORD said to Moses, "I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name." Then Moses said, "Now show me your glory." And the LORD said, "I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the LORD, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. But," he said, "you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live." Then the LORD said, "There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen."

See, that’s an example of a BOLD prayer, a MIGHTY prayer. God said to Moses, “I will do anything you ask, because I know your name.” Moses thought big, and he held God to His promise! He asked God to show Moses HIS GLORY. Now, you can’t get any bigger than that, asking God to APPEAR BEFORE YOU IN THE FLESH. Moses called upon his faith in God, and God JUST told him that he was pleased with Moses, and he knows Moses’ name! So that tells us that not ANYONE can pray a mighty prayer. Not ANYONE can ask a MIGHTY God for mighty things. What is OUR relationship with God? What is OUR prayer life like? Do we have faith that God knows our names? Do we have faith that God is pleased with us? When God is pleased with us, He will move on our behalf! If we want to pray that MIGHTY prayer, we HAVE to be in a covenant relationship with Him! We have to make sure that we are in HIS righteousness! 1 Peter 3:12 says “For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are attentive to their prayer…” Without HIS righteousness, our prayers might as well be to strangers. But when we are in that covenant relationship, when we accept that calling that God has on our lives, when we submit to Him, and let His will be done in our lives, we can go to the Father! Moses went to the Father, and asked the Father to show himself… and even though God warned Moses that Moses can’t see God’s face in the flesh, God still kept his word! His word does NOT come back void! So, if Moses can ask God to show himself, and Moses is in that INTIMATE relationship with God, what kinds of prayers are WE submitting? Is our relationship with Christ as deep as our prayer requests? You know that some of us ask God to bless us, when we really don’t know him from a hole in the wall! We can’t ask God to move in a mighty way if we’re looking at God as some kind of sugar daddy! In order for God to move in our lives, we have to be in that COVENANT relationship, serving Him, worshiping Him in spirit and in truth!

Another example of a MIGHTY prayer asking a MIGHTY God to do MIGHTY things can be found in 1 King 18, starting at the 16^th verse. The prophet Elijah set up a challenge for prophets of false gods. He asked the prophets of Baal to set up a sacrifice, but do not set it on fire. The challenge was their god Baal could set the altar on fire, if the prophets prayed hard enough. The prophets prayed and prayed, and even began beating themselves and cutting themselves up to get their god’s attention. Elijah began talking trash to them, telling them that their god must be asleep, or he must be traveling, or somewhere deep in thought. But after these false prophets could not get their fake god to set the altar on fire, he asked them to step aside.

Elijah built an altar, and dug a huge trench around it, and he asked the people watching to soak it in water. They made about four trips, with four huge jugs, until the altar was soaked and the trench surrounding the altar was filled. Then Elijah prayed the powerful prayer as quoted in 2 Kings 18:34: “At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: "O LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. 37 Answer me, O LORD, answer me, so these people will know that you, O LORD, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.” And when he prayed this mighty prayer, when he asked the God of Abraham to let it be known to everyone watching that He is God, God showed up! He answered this prayer in a mighty way! Despite the altar being soaked, and despite the trench surrounding the altar being filled with water, God answered in a way that proved that it was UNMISTAKABLE that He is God. The Lord said that altar on fire to the point where not only the altar, which was soaked, was on fire, but the water in the trench had dried up! If Elijah didn’t pray the prayer of faith, God wouldn’t have answered in a mighty way! If Elijah did not have an INTIMATE relationship with God, then Elijah would’ve been left hanging.

Also, when you have a mighty prayer life, and when you have an intimate relationship with God, sometimes, you don’t have to utter a word for God to do mighty things in your life! For example, look in the Book of Daniel, and the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Their prayer life was so mighty and so faithful that they refused to worship the idols that King Nebuchadnezzer set up. The King ordered them to be burned in the furnace, and ordered that the furnace be heated 7 times its normal level! Those three men went into the furnace by faith, saying that God will rescue them, and even if God DIDN’T rescue them, they’d be with HIM. And you know how the story went. Three men went into the furnace, but when the King looked in, there were 4 bodies present, 4 bodies in praise and worship, 4 bodies walking around totally untouched by the flames! God did a mighty thing for these men even before they asked, because they were already living a mighty prayer life.

Joshua was a warrior, and he came upon the city of Jericho. Instead of using the technology at the time, instead of using brute force to bring down the walls, he called upon the Lord. The Lord gave him specific instructions, for his army to march around the walls of Jericho 7 times, and remain silent. And on the 7^th day, Joshua and his army marched around the city and shouted, the walls collapsed! Joshua didn’t need a wrecking ball, he didn’t need explosives, he prayed to the Lord, and God moved in a mighty way, bringing down the walls of Jericho!

Another example is in the Book of Acts, in the 12^th chapter. The apostle Peter was in prison, set to be executed. And in Acts 12:5, the scripture says “So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him.” And of course, God moved in a mighty way. Peter was able to escape from prison, because God sent his angels to get Peter out! That’s something else that we should think about. When we are praying that mighty prayer, are we asking for God to move in a mighty way for other people? Are we asking God to deliver a miraculous healing for someone else? Are we praying the prayer of faith that someone we know is delivered from sickness, from depression, from sin itself?

So when we think about lifting up that MIGHTY prayer, are we including all of the elements of prayer? We should begin by first giving praise to God! When we pray, we are about to enter into His courts! We are coming boldly before the throne of Grace! The Bible says that we should enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Psalm 150 says let everything that has breath, praise the Lord! After we are giving praise, we should repent. We should ask God to forgive us for the sins that we committed, and we should forgive those who wronged us, so that WE can be forgiven! When we repent, we are showing that we are humble, and we are ready to enter into HIS righteousness!

When we have repented, we should ask God for what we need. Jesus told us in the book of Matthew to ask and it will be given to you, for everyone who asks shall receive! That’s not from me, that’s not from church doctrine, that’s from the very Word of God! Also, in the book of John, Jesus said “If you remain in me, and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given to you.” After we have asked, are we YIELDING to the power of God? Jesus himself was obedient when he was praying in the Garden. He asked God to remove the cup of pain from him, but most importantly, Jesus said “not MY will, but YOUR will be done.” Are we asking that God’s will be done in our lives? Is that breakthrough in accordance with God’s will in our lives?

As we pray, we should be expecting an answer! The Lord said that His word does not come back void, and he said that he would never leave us nor forsake us! When we are praying the prayer of faith, when we are praying that mighty prayer, we are leaning on the Word of God! And as we are praying in expectancy, we should be in a spirit of receivership! When Elijah prayed on Mount Carmel, he had faith that God was going to answer! When we are coming before the throne of grace, we should be ready to receive the blessings that God has in store for us! We are heirs to the promises of Abraham! We are in the Body of Christ, and God has empowered us to spread the gospel all over the world. So when we are praying, why SHOULDN’T we expect to receive what we ask for, as long as it’s in God’s will? Philippians 4:19 says “And my God will meet your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” That tells me everything I need to know, and that let me know that I can receive the blessings that God has in store for me!

In closing, remember that we are heirs to the promises of God. His word says that he will never leave us nor forsake us. The Word gives us guidelines on how to pray, and it gives us examples of how God moves in a mighty way when we pray that mighty prayer. Satan doesn’t want us to call upon God, the enemy wants us to rely on our own heads, even when we pray. But when we are calling upon God, we are reaching heaven, and working on that covenant relationship with God. And I know that there are some of us who can look back on our own lives to experience the mighty things that God has done. Despite what the enemy has tried to do to us, and despite what we have done to ourselves, we can all look back (even as recently as this morning, or before we came to service) for examples of how our mighty prayers have asked a mighty God to do mighty things in our lives, in the lives of loved ones, for this country, and for this world.

There is no reason that we should be timid in our prayers! We are servants of the most High, and more than that, Jesus calls us FRIEND. Jesus said he calls us friend, because we know the Father’s business. And we know that He chose us! Before the world was formed, he chose us, so why would we go to him in a timid fashion? He chose us to bear fruit, and when we ask things in His name, the Father will give us what we ask! Jesus himself said that we will do even greater things that what he did on Earth. We have the very Word of God backing us up in our prayer requests, and we have the promises of the Lord to fall back on! So when we think about that, when we meditate on how good God has been, is, and will be, for us, how can we do anything BUT pray in a mighty way? A mighty prayer asks a mighty God to do mighty things! So, how mighty is OUR prayers?