A Prayer for Energy to the Weary
It tells us that the prophet Elijah—known among the Jews for his phenomenal prayer power and prayer ministry—was a natural human being. He had a sin nature; he struggled with areas of weakness; he knew what it was like to sin and to fail, but his prayer power was not based on anything in Elijah; it was based on God.So, how can we “energize” our prayers? Every time we stop to pray, we should ask ourselves two questions:
- Am I in fellowship (Eph 6:18)? Sin throws up a barrier between God and us and short-circuits our prayer (Isa 59:2). Self-examination and confession removes the barrier and restores us to fellowship (1Jo 1:9, 1Jo 3:21–22). If we have unconfessed sins in our lives, if we are not filled with the Spirit, our prayers are works of the flesh and have absolutely no power.
- Am I praying according to the will of God (Joh 15:7; 1Jo 5:14–15)? How do we pray according to His will? We have to know His Word. Lack of study will rob us of the ability to pray effectively. Jesus said that whatever we ask in faith, we will receive. But what is “faith”? It is a response to God’s Word. We cannot ask for something in faith unless the Word of God declares that what we ask is the will of God. When we know the Word and our will is in line with His will, then our prayer will be powerful prayer.