James 5:16 (KJV): 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.
James 5:16 is comforting for the faithful Christian. The words “availeth much” stress the power of prayer.
It is significant to note that there are some qualifiers placed around the prayer that avails much though. Notice that James 5:16 does not say “prayer availeth much,” but rather “the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” For our prayers to be effective, there are some things needed on our part.
For instance, for our prayers to be effective, we must live righteously.
This point is brought out strongly in 1 Peter 3:12, which says, “For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears open to their prayer; but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.” God does not promise the unrighteous that their prayers will be effective. In fact, His face is against the unrighteous.
Part of living righteously involves becoming a Christian as God commands. This takes place when a repentant believer is baptized “into Christ” for the remission of his or her sins (Gal. 3:27; cf. Acts 2:38).
Being righteous involves more, though, than becoming a New Testament Christian. It involves living in obedience to God’s commands (1 Pet. 3:8-16). This is needful for God’s ears to be open to our prayers.
Something else that is needed for our prayers to be effective is to pray with the right motives. Notice James 4:3: You ask, and don’t receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it for your pleasures.
A different application of praying with the wrong motives is seen in Matthew 6:5. There the Lord said, “When you pray, you shall not be as the hypocrites, for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men.”
Some in Jesus’ day were hypocritical when praying. They prayed to “impress” others with their words. Matthew 6:7 continues this thought. There Jesus said, “In praying, don’t use vain repetitions, as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard for their much speaking.” The point here is not that it is wrong for others to hear us when we pray, or that we cannot repeat words in a prayer. Rather, the point is that we must be sincere and mean the words we pray.
In addition to sincerity and purity of motives, prayers that avail much are also prayed with faith.
Notice what is said in James 1:5-7: But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach; and it will be given tohim. But let him ask in faith, without any doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven by the wind and tossed. For let that man not think that he will receive anything from the Lord.
Whether praying for wisdom or something else, one who prays without faith should “not think that he will receive anything from the Lord.” We must trust God’s power and promises when we pray.
If we trust what God says about the power of prayer, we should pray with frequency. Prayer should be a continual practice of ours in good times and bad.
How wonderful is it to know that God wants us to cast our cares on Him (Phil. 4:6-7; 1 Pet. 5:7)? It is sad when such a privilege is ignored. As the hymn What a Friend We Have in Jesus says, “O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear, All because we do not carry Everything to God in prayer.”
An important thing to keep in mind when praying is that God answers prayer according to His will (cf. 2 Cor. 12:8-9). An attitude to have when praying is, “not my will, but yours, be done” (Luke 22:42).
So it is important to consider the high value Scripture places on prayer, but it is also important to consider what is needed from us in order for our prayers to be effective. May we live righteously and pray properly, and thus fully enjoy the blessing God offers of prayer that avails much.
– Michael Hickox