Get Your Music on Amazon!
Get Your Music - and everything else - on Amazon! All purchases made on Amazon through this link earn a commission for Jesusfreakhideout.com!

JFH Devotionals by J.M. Farro


Praying Effective Prayers


"And this is the confidence (the assurance, the privilege of boldness) which we have in Him: [we are sure] that if we ask anything (make any request) according to His will (in agreement with His own plan), He listens to and hears us. And if (since) we [positively] know that He listens to us in whatever we ask, we also know [with settled and absolute knowledge] that we have [granted us as our present possessions] the requests made of Him." - 1 John 5:14-15 AMP

The Bible says that, "The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much." (James 5:16 NASB) But what exactly is an "effective" prayer? The verses above in First John offer us some valuable insights on this subject.

First, we must pray "in agreement" with God. One of the best ways to do that is to become very familiar with the Scriptures. The Bible contains promises from the Lord that pertain to every situation and circumstance we will ever encounter in our lifetime. We can go before God with an open Bible and ask Him to show us a promise or two that will reveal His will for our situation. Then we can get into agreement with His plans for us by laying claim to those promises in prayer, and standing on them until they come to pass. Jesus said, "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you." (John 15:7 NASB) When we allow the Word of God to shape our prayers, we will see our percentage of answered prayer multiplied many times over.

Next, we see in these verses from First John that as we pray in agreement with God, we are to pray with "boldness". Jesus didn't sacrifice His life so that you and I could approach Him with fear and uncertainty. No, He died so that we would understand and take advantage of the "privilege of boldness" that is our inheritance in Christ. Hebrews 4:16 (AMP) says: "Let us then fearlessly and confidently and boldly draw near to the throne of grace (the throne of God's unmerited favor to us sinners)…" It is our faith in Christ that gives us the privilege of approaching God without reservation. As Ephesians 3:12 (AMP) says: "Because of our faith in Him, we dare to have the boldness (courage and confidence) of free access (an unreserved approach to God with freedom and without fear)." It is an insult to God when we approach Him as if we doubt His greatness and goodness toward us.

Lastly, our "effective" prayers should include giving thanks for the answer. If we are praying in agreement with God, and we are petitioning Him boldly and confidently, then First John says that we can "know [with settled and absolute knowledge] that we have [granted us as our present possessions] the requests made of Him." Now, if God gave you (past tense) something you asked for, wouldn't you promptly thank Him for it? Wouldn't that be the proper response? Well, according to this Scripture, when you pray effectively, what you asked God for is actually your "present possession," so the right thing to do is to begin thanking Him for it, even if it hasn't manifested in the physical realm yet. Don't expect your feelings to support you in this part of the process - but begin thanking and praising God by faith. Then watch how your belief level starts to increase more and more.

If you have trusted Christ as your Savior, then you are a "righteous" man or woman of God, and you have the potential to pray effective and powerful prayers. I pray that the Lord will show you how to put these principles to work in your life, so that you may receive all the answered prayer He has for you!

Prayer: Lord, teach me how to pray in agreement with Your will, Your plans, and Your promises for my life, and those of others. Help me to discipline myself to spend regular time in Your presence and Your Word. Show me how to approach You fearlessly, confidently, and boldly every time. Thank You that as I follow Your Spirit's lead in these areas, I will reap an ever-increasing harvest of answered prayer!

- J. M. Farro

 

go to main Devotionals page
go to Devotionals archive

 

 

                 
Check out JFH's Lloyd in his first-ever childrens book!

Search JFH



This Friday, July 25, 2025
ALBUMS
Anchor & Braille New Mexico [Equal Vision]
B. Tee Told You [Syntax]
Bride Scarecrow Messiah CD Re-Release [Girder]
KDNS After Eden [Syntax]
Olivia Lane Songs About Jesus (Deluxe Edition) [BEC]
Tasha Cobbs Leonard TASHA [Motown Gospel]
Kevi Morse Kingston We Winning [Syntax]
Pulpit Vomit Hospital Lens [Rottweiler]
Anthony & Tiffany Salerno Dance for Jesus - EP (independent)
Taylor & Co Worship Breakthrough - EP (independent)
Josh Wright LEAD (independent)

SINGLES
Sho Baraka Still Got Faith (ft. L3xdivine) - Single [Syntax]
Gracie Binion Easy To Please - Single [BEC]
Katty Camargo Shine Upon Me - Single (independent)
C4 Crotona Mr. Gritty - Single [Syntax]
Andrew Gonoude Closer To You - Single (independent)
EJ Swavv & Nickwit2Ks Growth - Single [Syntax]
J.Solo All I Have (ft. Kaboose & MotionPlus) - Single [Syntax]
Kings Kaleidoscope + Kings Kaleidoscope Hymns Amazing Grace - Single [BEC]
Tasha Layton Life In Me - Single [BEC]
Lecrae Bless You (feat. Torey D'Shaun) - Single [Reach]
Hunter Plake Down to Earth - Single [BEC]
QEW JOYXFIX (ft. Stevie Rizo) - Single [Syntax]
Saints in Exile Bad Vibes - Single [Syntax]
Xander Sallows infinite - Single [DREAM]
Silent Reflection Left Me for Dead - Single [Syntax]
John Stratton The Body and the Blood - Single [Pure Mosaic Services]
Regina Vandereijk You're the Light - Single (independent)
Joel Vaughn Feel It - Single [DREAM]
Zauntee Jesus Down In Florida - Single [BEC]

VINYL
Bride Scarecrow Messiah Vinyl [Girder]

DVD
Jordan Smith The People's Hymnal DVD [Gaither]

This Saturday, July 26, 2025
SINGLES
Anthony & Tiffany Salerno What Would You Do? - Single (independent)

Next Friday, August 1, 2025
ALBUMS
Crash Rickshaw Big Sir - EP [Velvet Blue]
McKamey Legacy Holding to Truth [Horizon]
Ordained Thunder Roar [Girder]
V1 Worship Archives [DREAM Worship]

SINGLES
Dan Bremnes Human - Single [Curb]
Lauren Daigle Let It Be A Hallelujah - Single [Centricity]
Sleeping At Last Believe - Single (independent)

VINYL
Disciple Attack! (Limited Run Vinyl) Vinyl [Girder]



For all release dates, click here!
 

Join honey and save on online purchases!
Get all of JFH's indie compilation now totally free!
Check out depositphotos for royalty free images