Text- James 5:16 – “The earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available [dynamic in its working]”
Prayer is more than just a collocation of words; it is a spiritual act. It is your direct link to God. I tell you beloved, a lot happens when we pray that we cannot see or perceive with our physical senses.
When you bow your head to pray before dinner; when you take a moment to express your desires to God during the day; when you lift up your hands to pray with other believers… whether you whisper quietly or shout with a loud voice, whenever you pray, you command a response from heaven.
Our text tells us that the earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available [dynamic in its working]. Previously on this series, we have established that prayer releases angels on assignment and changes the atmosphere. Another thing that prayer does is that it opens up the heavens.
Luke 3:21 says, “When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened”.
Everyone was baptized, nothing happened. But when Jesus was baptized, Bible says he was praying; this made a lot of difference. As he was praying, heaven was opened.
We see a similar encounter in Acts 10: 9-11, “About noon the following day as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray… and he fell into a trance. He saw heaven opened…”
Prayer, in the hands of a righteous man, is like a “key” that has the power and potential to open up the realms of heaven.
Beloved, your access to God through prayer gives you a huge privilege. You can literally penetrate heaven with your prayer and secure the release of God’s power and blessings.
Deuteronomy 28:12 says “The LORD will open the heavens, the storehouse of his bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands”. We see from this verse of scripture that when the heavens open, blessings are poured down. This is what happens when we pray.
Revelations 4:1-2 – “A door was standing open in heaven and a sound came forth saying, "Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this."… We see here that open heaves give us access to divine revelation. This is what we stand to gain when we pray.
From this moment, don’t ever allow the devil to make you feel like your prayers are just bouncing off the ceiling. Whenever you pray, do it with all confidence, knowing fully well that heaven is being opened.
PRAYER
Father, pour upon me the spirit of grace and supplications. Help me to wholly trust in you as you produce wonderful results through my prayers in Jesus Name.
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