As always I went to the dictionary. "Fervent" means having or displaying a passionate intensity. "Passionate" means showing or caused by strong belief. "Intensity" means highly concentrated. "Concentrated" means wholly directed to one thing. "Avail" means to take advantage of an opportunity or available resource. So let's paraphrase this verse...
"A wholly directed prayer of highly strong belief takes advantage of many opportunities and resources."
Boy.. now that makes you think...right? First thing this tells me is that there are many opportunities and resources available to me. Isn't that true with God? He has so many resources available to us, yet so many times we just don't even open our eyes wide enough to see them... or maybe we are just too busy or even lazy to take advantage of them.
The second thing that shows me is that our prayers need to be wholly (entirely, fully) directed. So many times our prayers are whispered as we run out the door, drive to work, sit in the waiting room, finish a phone call. But are our prayers "wholly" directed? Do we put full attention to the prayers we are offering up? Or, are we thinking about what to fix for supper and where we are going to find the money to pay the next bill? I am so guilty of not having "wholly directed" prayers.
The third thing God showed me is the part about it being a prayer of "strong belief." One definition of strong is "of, relating to, or denoting the strongest of the known kinds of force." And "belief" means "an acceptance that a statement is true or that something exists." So in other words, a prayer we believe strongly in is a prayer that we know is true, that we know exists and it isn't just knowing a little.. it isn't just having hope it will happen or might exist...it is knowing with the strongest kind of force that it is true and the resources ARE there and they ARE available to us.
How many of us are really praying with that kind of power? Girls, a fervent prayer availeth much!!!! Maybe we need to start taking advantage of our prayer lives more and calling out the power and believing more so that we can take full advantage of what is already provided for us.
You know the coolest thing about this verse other than it's full meaning?.... It is the second part of James 5:16, the foundational verse of SHINE. "Confess your sins one to another so that you may be healed." And right after that is where the fervent prayer comes in. We need to start being passionate about what we are doing, how we are praying and what we are believing. If we can take up this challenge, I think we will see HUGE changes in our life.
I think the thing that is resonating with me is BELIEVING. My prayers don't carry much belief sometimes. Why waste time saying a prayer and finishing it up by making a statement to a friend that the issues "will never change"? You know what I am talking about..."It will always be this way." "He will never change." "That's just the way it is."
Girls... let's start believing! Let's start praying! Let's start taking advantage of the resources already given to us! A fervent prayer availeth much!!!
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