“He who prays without fervency does not pray at all. ” Charles Spurgeon
FOR /V\ANY YEARS I YAS AYARE of my inadequate prayer life. I would read biograpliies of great Christians and marvel at die liours they spent in prayer. I would always feel convicted when I read the question and command Jesus gave Peter in the garden: “What, could ye not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation.” The next words of Jesus would give me little comfort: “The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak .” 92
Then three years ago, I followed the example of the disciples and asked, “Lord, teach me to pray.”
He directed my attention to the prophet Elijah who had power with God. James tells us that Elijah “was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain.” As a result of Elijah’s prayer, it didn’t rain for three and a half years. Then .Elijah “prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit .” 93
One word in that passage stood out to me with significance—the word earnestly. There was a marked intensity and fervency and seriousness to Elijahs prayer.
James introduces his account of Elijah’s prayer with this statement: “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much .” 94 The phrase “effectual fervent” is one Greek word, energeo, related to our English word energy. And the phrase “availeth much” literally means, “makes much power available.” That’s what this kind of fervent, earnest, energetic prayer does. Other translations render this last phrase like this: “has great power and wonderful results”; “can accomplish much”; “has great power as it is working”; “makes tremendous power available—dynamic in its working .” 95
FIRE FROM THE HEART
Much of our prayer lacks the kind of fervency God requires for effective results. But when a person sincerely cries out to God as his only hope for deliverance, provision, or protection, we can be quite certain the cry will be fervent.
Faithful preachers of God in past generations knew and taught the importance of fervor in prayer. “He who prays without fervency,” Charles Spurgeon said, “does not pray at all. We cannot commune with God, who is a consuming fire, if there is no fire in our prayers. ” He spoke of how fervent prayer, “like a cannon planted at the gates of heaven, makes them fly open.” He said it is “essential” that prayer “be red hot,” and added, “Cold prayers ask the Lord not to
hear them. Those who do not plead with fervency, plead not at all .” 96
“Fervency is the soul of prayer,” wrote E. M. Bounds. “In prayer, fire is the motive power .” 97
“The best prayer,” wrote Thomas Watson, the seventeenth-century Puritan, “is when the heart and tongue join together in concert, when they are zealous and fervent.... Fervency is to prayer as fire to incense, which makes it ascend to heaven as sweet perfume .” 98
“I cry out with my whole heart, ” the psalmist wrote . 99 But many of God’s people in Scripture failed to do this. Through the prophet Flosea, God said, “They did not cry out to Me with their heart .” 100
When we read a parable Jesus told about a widow crying out to a judge for his help on her behalf, were told ahead of time the parable’s point: “that men always ought to pray and not lose heart. ” 101 When we make the effort to vocalize our prayer in a cry to God, it’s a good indication that we haven’t lost heart.
Fervency can also be manifested in how continually we cry out to God. In a time of grief and trouble for Samuel, “he cried out to the Lord all night .” 102
TRUST AT ALL TIMES
By crying out to God, we acknowledge that He has the power and resources we require for whatever need we have or whatever trouble we’re in. God delights in rewarding such faith. In fact, this quality is essential for receiving the
help we lack. The more desperately we cry to God for help, the more likely we are to have faith in Him.
Fervency and faith go together. “Trust in Him at all times, you people,” David taught. “Pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us.” 103 We show our faith and trust in Him when we pour out our hearts before Him. And God responds, “For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him.” 104
In the words of Romans 8:15—“We cry, Abba, Father”—the Puritan Thomas Watson quickly saw the working together of fervency and faith: ‘“We cry,’ there is fervency in prayer; Abba, Father, ’there is faith.”
James tells us that we are to pray with faith, without doubting. By expressing our prayers aloud, we can often sense doubt in our own voice—an aspect that might well stay hidden if our prayers remain unspoken. Then we can confess that doubt, ask God to remove it, and cry out again in faith.
When Jesus told His disciples a parable “that men always ought to pray and not lose heart,” and then spoke of God s chosen ones “who cry out day and night to Him,” He quickly turned His disciples’ focus to faith: He asked them, “when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?” 105
If the Lord on that day finds His people crying out to Him, then He will indeed find faith.
CPoints to bonder
Reflect on Charles Spurgeons statement: “He who prays without fervency does not pray at all.” Can you think of times when you were just “saying words” with no intensity or earnest longing? Ask the Lord to teach you to pray in the way that pleases Him.
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I waited patiently for the LORD; and He inclined to me , and heard my cry.
Psalm 40:1
I’VE BEEN AMAZED AT HOW just one cry will bring immediate results. But we should not always expect this to be the case. Sometimes we need to keep crying night and day.
A branch of our ministry known as ALERT trains men to provide voluntary service to communities in times of natural disasters and other emergencies and needs. After several years, the program’s facilities were being used to their capacity. The wife of the programs founder began to cry out to the Lord with the prayer of Jabez, 106 asking for expanded facilities.
We then learned of a large university campus for sale.
The property included more than a hundred buildings, including dormitories, administrative buildings, and a spacious gymnasium and dining area. Other features included a one-mile airstrip, a 1,000-acre farm, an 800-acre pine forest, two lakes surrounded by seventeen staff homes, a library of 130,000 volumes, a radio station, and a 220-acre RV park.
This was beyond anything we’d ever imagined—and so was the asking price! Since the beginning of our ministry in 1961, the Lord has directed us not to ask people for funds or to borrow any money. Therefore, we prayed that God would provide for this need.
A few months later, however, we experienced a “death” to our vision. Another organization signed a contract to purchase this property.
Almost three years later, we were informed that the other organization was unable to come up with the money and asked if we were still interested in buying it. We were, but we still didn’t have the funds to meet the requested price. The broker responded by saying, “Make us an offer.’’
The vision was reborn. Two groups that had an interest in supporting us joined together to make a combined offer on the property on our behalf, much lower than the asking price. To our amazement, the offer was accepted.
It took longer than expected to work out the details of the contract, but finally it was done. Then we received an urgent message from the sellers telling us not to sign it—they had received another offer millions of dollars higher than ours.
Our hearts sank. This was “double death” to our vision.
In the midst of our distress, realizing our impossible situation, we had only one recourse—crying out to the Lord.
Several of us got on our knees and in a loud voice cried out, “O Lord, Abba, Father, deliver this property to us for Your work!” As soon as we made that cry, three words came to my mind: Write a letter. I wondered what possible good a letter would do to counteract an offer millions of dollars higher than ours. Yet the thought persisted, so we sat down and wrote a page-and-a-half letter of appeal, asking them to honor our offer.
We e-mailed it to the sellers. Several hours later, we received a phone call in response. The sellers had read our letter. On the basis of what we had written, they had decided to sell us the property if we could complete the transaction by the following Friday afternoon at five o’clock.
After several more times of crying out, at 4:55 that Friday afternoon, the title was transferred!
God’s Word tells us of “His own elect who cry out day and night to Ffim,” and how God will respond to them “speedily” as He patiently hears them. 107 His timely response will always come according to what He wisely determines is the best schedule, in reward to our faith.
Sometimes God delays His answer in order to get greater glory when the response at last comes. Sometimes He prolongs our waiting in order to intensify our fervor as we keep crying out.
Charles Spurgeon taught that “red hot” prayer means “praying perseveringly”; he said the one who prays “gathers force as he proceeds, and grows more fervent when God delays to answer.” 108
Such agonizing delays were encountered by many in Scripture—by Job, for example: “I cry out to You, but You do not answer me”; 109 by David: “O My God, I cry in the daytime, but You do not hear”; 110 and by Habakkuk: “O Lord, how long shall I cry, and You will not hear?” 111 All their cries, in time, were answered—and the same will be true for us.
Joints to J J oncIer
Has God delayed His answer to some urgent cry of your heart? Ask a friend to hold you accountable to persevere in crying out—day and night, if necessary—until He answers.