Praying with "heat"

Let me take you on a little word journey.  This morning I read a passage of scripture In James 5 that really spoke to me.  It was so simple, but God wrote it on my heart as I read it. 

James 5:16 states "The prayer of a righteous man are powerful and effective."

All day long I pondered on this verse.  There is so much hope in this one tiny verse.  It is rich with God's promises.  If I pray, there is power in those prayers.  My prayer as a Christ follower are effective.  They matter, and there is power in them.


As I went back to the same verse and read it this evening, I decided to dissect it.  I read it in the King James Version and it states "The fervent prayers..."  I decided to dig a little deeper.  Little did I know how rich this verse really is!


The New Testament was originally written in Greek.  The original Greek translation for the word "Fervent" is "Zeo".  This is where we get our English word Zealous.  The word "Zeo" was used to describe "Heat; to boil."  It was often used to describe "a boiling of the Holy Spirit".


In other words, James was saying "When a righteous man boils inside......When he burns inside while praying to God for something to happen or change, His prayers are powerful.  His prayers effect the outcome."


This reminded me of Romans 8:26 "In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness.  We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express."


Another thing I thought of was Jacob wrestling with God.  In Genesis 32 we see Jacob wrestle with God all night.  God finally touches Jacobs hip and knocks it our of joint just so Jacob will leave Him alone.  Even then Jacob hangs on until God blesses him.  In the same way, God delights in His children approaching him aggressively when we pray.  He wants us to get in the dirt; to wrestle Him when we pray.  He wants us to be tenacious and beg Him for His blessing.


A few thoughts:

• When was the last time you brought heat to your prayers?

• Have you ever prayed to God to the point you felt like your insides were boiling?

• Do you approach your heavenly Father with bold confidence that your prayers are powerful?  Effective?  Do you believe your prayers can be game changers?

• Do you go into prayers ready to wrestle with God?  Are you willing to pray all night, all week, all year?  Are you willing to wrestle with God for a lifetime until He answers your "groaning" prayer?

I am humbled that I, a sinner who deserves hell, am not only saved from my sins but challenged by God to pray with heat.  I am humbled that my God wants me to wrestle Him over what the Holy Spirit groans inside me to pray.  I am amazed that God, the creator of the universe waits by the phone, ready to hear my prayers and act upon them.  What an awesome God we serve.  I can't wait to pray with passion and power and see my God not only show up but show off!