Prevailing Prayer

by R.P. Wahler
James 5:16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
17 Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months.
18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit. KJV
To prevail in prayer is to become effective in or to succeed in praying. Prevailing prayer is prayer that makes a difference. When we pray, we are to pray prayers that will make a difference in the situation about which we are praying.
Two words are used in the text that illustrates proper prayer. Effectual meaning focused. Effectual prayer is prayer that is focused on the solution. We do not pray the problem, but we pray in faith believing that God will solve the problem.
Jesus Christ is the answer, and praying the problem will not take the problem away. When we pray, we must keep our focus on Jesus and His ability to meet the need about which we are praying. The other word is “Fervent” meaning hot. Mediocrity in prayer will not get the job done. We must pray focused fervent prayers to God. Then we also must be “Prevailing” in prayer. This is to say; lasting in effect and focus. To prevail in prayer is to make prayer a priority. Placing emphasis on our prayer life will bring prayer to the forefront in our problem solving. Success in prayer is determined by where we place our priorities concerning prayer.