Fearless Prayer
Key Verses:
“And it came to pass, at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near and said, ‘LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that You are God in Israel and I am Your servant, and that I have done all these things at Your word. Hear me, O LORD, hear me, that this people may know that You are the LORD God, and that You have turned their hearts back to You again.’” -I Kings 18:36-37 NKJV
“Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” -James 5:16 NKJV
There is so much to say, but so little time, so I will do my best to help you track with me and the Holy Spirit!
When I think of fearless prayer, I immediately think of I Kings 18 and the story of Elijah and the prophets of Baal. It’s so good, take an extra five minutes and read the chapter! To put it quickly, Elijah challenges the prophets and Baal: we each make a sacrifice but without lighting the fire. Instead, we pray, and “the god who answers by setting fire to his wood is the true God.” Baal and his prophets fail. Elijah? He pours water on the wood before praying to God—now that’s bold! And God consumes it all with fire.
You may be thinking, “Well that was the Old Testament, and Elijah was a prophet, and that is why his prayer was answered.” Fast forward to today, may I be just as bold (fearless that is) to pray for a need today? The key difference is not Old Testament verses New Testament, it’s the status of your heart.
Elijah was a righteous man, and James 5:16 tells us the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much! Psalms 66:18 also makes it clear that if I hide iniquity in my heart, then the Lord will not hear me. Makes me wanna do a heart check!
We could do a whole teaching on what it means to be righteous. I encourage you to explore Hebrews 4:14-16 and Hebrews 10:19 to start your own, personal study!
So, how else do we pray fearlessly? You must have faith. It seems basic, but oftentimes the essentials elements seem plain to us. Look at verses like 1 John 5:14 and Mark 11:22-24:
“Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.” - 1 John 5:14 NKJV
“22 So Jesus answered and said to them, “Have faith in God. 23 For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. 24 Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.” - Mark 11:22-24 NKJV
Lastly, pray under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Everything that has been said prior leads up to this point. “But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit,” - Jude 1:20 NKJV. We can not have bold, fearless, and effective prayers without the Holy Spirit. He must be our guide!
Our Prayer:
Heavenly Father, spark and ignite a passion in our hearts for prayer! Open the eyes of our understanding to help us see what you say! Holy Spirit, may we seek will all of our hearts and not settle for anything less! Fill me fresh today! In Jesus name, amen!