Praying to El-Shaddai
When you come before the throne of grace and present your petitions to God, what do your prayers sound like? Sometimes as I pray aloud to God, my prayers sound like I am whining, complaining or even begging. I forget about the most important aspects of prayer—the adoration and the praise. Most of all, I sometimes fail to remember the power of prayer.
This power was evident as I was on my knees along with 5,000 other people in the Congo. We were at a worship service that gathers in the middle of the afternoon on Sundays. It is not called church, but instead, spiritual combat.
People from all kinds of backgrounds come together in one accord and pray unto God. As the thousands of other people and I were pouring our hearts out to God, it sounded like a rainstorm on the tin roof above us. There was so much power as sin, fear, doubt and guilt were all washed away by the storm of that thunderous prayer.
In part, James 5:16 (KJV) says:
“The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”
To understand this passage, we must fully comprehend the words “fervent” and “availeth.” If someone is fervently praying, he or she is doing so with passionate enthusiasm. A better definition would be “unreservedly enthusiastic.” In other words, we should come before El-Shaddai, God Almighty, the God who is sufficient for the needs of His people, and pour out our hearts completely with the knowledge that He is indeed all-powerful and capable of answering our prayers.
When we stand before God righteously in fervent prayer, His word says our prayers will “avail much.” Our prayers will be effective—they will produce mighty results. The next time you come before God in prayer, remember to first praise Him, not just for what He has already done and what He is about to accomplish, but merely for who He is—El-Shaddai. With a heart full of praise, we will be able to present our petitions to Him boldly and powerfully.
