Scripture Text: James 5:13-18
Memory Verse: Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. James 5:16
Lesson Aim: To emphasize the importance and power of prayer.
Key Points - Prayer is fundamentally important to the Christian. - Prayer is designed to work for us. - If we think wrong, we will believe wrong and pray wrong.
Prayer may be defined as addressing God with adoration, confession, supplication, petition or thanksgiving. The subject of prayer is not new because it is fundamentally important to the Christian. It is important to the Church, its ministry and the ministering brethren. The disciples gave a heavy weight to prayer and the ministry of the Word.
Since prayer is basically outward, spoken communication with God, it can take on many forms. There are different types of prayer. We have prayers of faith, prayers of consecration, prayers of worship, prayers of agreement, united prayer, intercessory prayer, etc. There are many ways to pray: from a quiet muttering to God (as in the form of meditation), to loud and clear (as in public prayer), to even praying in tongues. Prayers can even be sung. Prayer may be spontaneous, as well as memorized. We can pray while standing, kneeling, laying down, walking, riding in the car, flying in a plane, etc. Above all, wherever we are we should always maintain an attitude of prayer.
It has been said that prayer is a key to God’s storehouse. However, it is the prayers that avail much that open the door. There is power in the effective, fervent prayer of the righteous man and there is power in prayers of faith. Those are the prayers that are answered and those are the prayers that glorify God.
Prayer is a powerful tool. However, there are laws or principles that govern the success and effectiveness of prayer. First of all, we need to use the tool. We cannot expect anything if we do not pray. As we mature when we pray, we should pray correctly. If we think wrong, we will believe wrong; and if we believe wrong, we will pray wrong. We may be praying, but we may be praying incorrectly. What we believe and say when we pray, and after we pray, impacts the results. Prayer and the Word of God are designed to work for us. However, we can take these same tools and use them against us.
Jesus’ life was filled with prayer because He understood the importance and power of prayer. He went from one prayer meeting to another, and it is between those prayer meetings that we see the power of God flowing out of Him to meet every need. There was power in His prayers because Jesus prayed in perfect agreement with the Word. After all, He was the Living Word. He prayed and He prayed effectively. Jesus is yet praying (interceding). If we want to find Jesus, we can find Him at the place of prayer.
Questions and Discussion
- Why is prayer so important? 2 Chronicles 7:14; Jeremiah 29:13; Matthew 7:7-8; Matthew 17:19-21; Acts 6:4; Revelation 8:3-4
- What are some of the benefits of prayer? Acts 12:5; Ephesians 6:18; Philippians 4:6; James 5:13-18
- Consider the prayers of Elijah and Hezekiah. What were the results? James 5:17; 1 Kings 17:1, 18:41, 44-45; 18:36-39; 2 Kings 19:14-20, 32; 20:1-11
- What are some of the keys to answered prayer? James 4:2-3; Mark 11:23-26; Matthew 6:10; Romans 12:2 In what ways we can apply them to our lives?
- What can we do to be more effective in prayer?