Praying Effectual Prayers - Part 2 by Apostle Michael Orokpo: MP3 Download & Sermon Notes

The Gap Between Praying and Results

There is a lot of praying in the body of Christ. But when the scriptures are examined critically — both doctrinally and through the lens of the lives and results of the patriarchs — the results they commanded have largely not been accessed. There is something wrong with our understanding of prayer.

James 5:16: "The effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much."

Effectual praying comes before intense praying. Being effectual is more important than being intense. Both matter — but effectual must precede fervent. Sometimes we give so much priority to intensity that we negate the place of effectual praying.

Intensity has to do with how much of your heart you pour into prayer. But no matter how much of your heart you pour in, if you are not praying according to the dictates of scripture, you will not have the results that scripture commands.

Other religions pray with all their hearts — but they are not praying by the power of the Holy Spirit, not praying in the name of Jesus, not praying according to scripture. No matter how intense their prayers are, they will not produce the results of scripture. There are religions where people pray and cut themselves. There are religions where people pray facing the sun for hours. There are religions where people crawl on their knees across long distances. The prophets of Baal prayed from morning till night and cut themselves with knives. Intensity was not lacking — but effectuality was absent. Before you talk intensity, you must look at scripture to find the dictates of effectual prayer.

What Makes Prayer Effectual

Effectual prayer is prayer that operates according to the requirements laid down in scripture. These requirements include:

• Praying in the name of Jesus — John 16:23–24: "Whatsoever you shall ask the Father in My name, He will give it you." The name of Jesus is not a closing formula. It is the legal authorization upon which every prayer is presented before the Father.
• Praying according to the will of God — 1 John 5:14–15: "If we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions we desired of Him." Praying according to the will of God requires knowing the will of God — which comes through knowing the Word of God.
• Praying in faith — Mark 11:24: "Whatsoever things you desire, when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you shall have them." Faith is not a feeling of certainty. It is the spiritual posture of receiving before the manifestation is visible.
• Praying in the Holy Spirit — Jude 20: "Praying in the Holy Ghost." Romans 8:26: the Spirit helps our infirmities and makes intercession for us. To pray in the Spirit is to move beyond the limitations of natural understanding into the realm where God's own will is being prayed through you.
• Praying as a righteous man — James 5:16 specifies that it is the effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man that avails much. Righteousness is not moral perfection — it is the legal right-standing before God that every believer has through faith in Christ. But it must be walked in and maintained.

Learning from the Patriarchs

The patriarchs of scripture prayed and got results that made history. They did not just pray long. They prayed according to specific principles:

• Abraham interceded for Lot and turned the judgment of God (Genesis 18:23–32)
• Moses prayed and reversed divine judgment on Israel multiple times
• Elijah prayed and shut the heavens for three and a half years — then prayed again and the rain came (James 5:17–18)
• Daniel prayed with understanding, with repentance, and with persistence until the angel broke through (Daniel 9:2–3, Daniel 10:12–13)

In every case, there was effectuality before intensity. There was a why and a what before there was a how long.

The Goal of Prayer

The goal of prayer is not the act of praying — it is results. The length of prayer should be determined by what you are seeking to accomplish, not by a religious target of hours. You stay until you receive. You press until you break through. You do not stop until the thing God promised is either manifested or secured in your spirit.

This is the standard the patriarchs modeled. This is the standard James presents. And this is the standard to which every believer is called — not religious performance in prayer, but effectual, faith-filled, Holy Spirit-empowered prayer that produces the results God has promised.