Hello Friends, Grace to you and peace from our Lord, Christ Jesus. Thanks once again for taking the time to share the words of God with us. Let’s take another step on learning how to pray effectively.

God Answers Prayers
God does answer prayers, and those who earnestly pray to Him have received such a blessing. As we battle with an economic crises that is affecting millions of lives worldwide, we certainly cannot ignore prayers to God. He is merciful, compassionate and gracious; therefore, He will hear and answer us.

Prevailing Prayers
We all desire that God would answer and grant every petition we pray for, right? It’s not a problem with God, at all. However, we must also know that our attitude towards God needs to be right, and our prayers to Him need to be prayed right in order for Him to hear and grant our petitions. A prayer that God grants is effective because it has prevailed:
“The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit” (James 5:16-18). Noting that the word fervent means intense, righteous means to be right with God, and avail means to successfully achieve a goal or to prevail, the first sentence of the above scripture is saying that: “The strong intense prayer of a person who is right with God is effective in achieving its goal.” In other words, when a person who is right with God prays very intensely, God will answer and grant his request. So, effective prayers are prevailing prayers, and they are those that are answered by God.
       The scripture then gives an example of a righteous man, Elijah the Prophet, who in an effort to chastise Israel for blatant sins against God, prayed very fervently asking God to withhold rain from Israel, and God answered right away by withholding rain for 3.5 years. Afterwards, he prayed again, and God sent rain.

How To Pray Prevailing Prayers
You too can achieve similar results in prayers if you believe the above words of God. For, buried in those words are a few keys that can enable you to pray prevailing prayers.

1. Put On Your Righteousness:
Righteousness is a very important ingredient that makes prayers effective. If you’ve been saved by God, He has given you His righteousness through Jesus Christ. Be certain that you have this righteousness, and put it on by living obediently to God according to His words. Pursue righteous activities, but abhor unrighteous ones. Hold tight to righteousness. It is your key to prevailing prayer.

2. Put Fervency Into Your Prayers:
Fervency is also a very important ingredient that makes prayers prevail. If you have been saved by God, He has given a measure of His Spirit to live in you. His Spirit is the one who will put fervency into your prayers when you yield to Him. Your prayer is a sacrifice or offering to God. God says that when an offering is made by fire unto Him, it is a sweet aroma acceptable to Him. The fervency from the Holy Spirit is the power of God driving your prayers. It is the consuming fire of God that consumes your sacrifice of prayers, making it a sweet aroma acceptable to Him. Make a habit of asking God to help you pray. He’ll do this by kindling your heart with fervency.

3. Persist In Prayers Till It Prevails:
Stay in prayers long enough to allow the Holy Spirit time to release fervency into your heart to drive your prayers. He responds to our prayers at His own time. He does not follow us, we follow him.
       Many at times, we become frustrated and stop praying before our answers come. Continue praying for your petition daily or multiple times a day until you receive the answer from God or till you know in the Spirit that you should stop and wait for the answer. Jesus says that men always ought to pray and not lose heart(Luke 18:1). When Elijah asked God to restore rain to Israel(see above), he did not receive an answer after the first six prayer sessions. But He persisted and prayed again for the seventh time. This time, God answered by forming a rain cloud that later spread to give rain. So, Elijah prayed to completion before the answer came. You too should not stop praying until God answers you.
If you are not yet saved, consider beginning it today so that you can receive your righteousness and bring fervency into your prayers. You have nothing to loose, but everything to gain. Just say the following words: “Jesus, I believe that You are the Son of the living God, and the Lord of heaven and earth. I surrender fully into your hands. Come into my life and save me from my sins.” After you’ve said this, call or write to us for
further guidance and a free package of guiding materials.
Remain blessed.