"The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much."(James 5:16)
In Hebrews we find a long list of benefits which faith brings to its possessor: justification, deliverance, fruitfulness, endurance, victory over enemies, courage, strength and even resurrection from the dead.
Then, everything that is attributed thus to faith might with equal truth be attributed to prayer, for faith and true prayer are like two sides of the same coin -- they are inseparable!
Men may, and often do, pray without faith (though this is not true prayer), but it is not thinkable that men should have faith and not pray.
Whatever God can do, faith can do, and whatever faith can do, prayer can do when it is offered in faith.
It should not be considered strange, then, that an invitation to prayer is an invitation to omnipotence, for prayer engages the Omnipresent God and brings Him into our human affairs. According to the Bible, we have because we ask or we have not because we ask not. It does not take much wisdom to discover our next move. Is it not to pray and pray again and again until the answer comes? Let us not fail the world and disappoint God by failing to pray!
Heavenly Father, thank You that You are a God who welcomes dialogue with His children! My prayer this morning is that You will build Your Church in significant ways around the world today.