What a Friend We Have in Jesus / Joseph M. Scriven / Charles C. Converse
What a friend we have in Jesus,
all our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry
everything to God in prayer!
O what peace we often forfeit,
O what needless pain we bear,
all because we do not carry
everything to God in prayer.
Have we trials and temptations?
Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged;
take it to the Lord in prayer.
Can we find a friend so faithful
who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our every weakness;
take it to the Lord in prayer.
Are we weak and heavy laden,
cumbered with a load of care?
Precious Savior, still our refuge;
take it to the Lord in prayer.
Do thy friends despise, forsake thee?
Take it to the Lord in prayer!
In his arms he'll take and shield thee;
thou wilt find a solace there.
The Lord also brought a scripture to mind last night as I was praying, and he brought the same verse to mind again this morning when I was praying. The verse is James 5:16b: “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much” (KJV). Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.
My Understanding: I wanted to understand the true meaning of verse 16b, so I looked it up in several translations, including in two literal Greek-to-English translations:
“The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much” (NASB). “The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective” (NIV 1984). “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much” (KJV). “Very strong is a petition of a righteous man being made effective” (NIV Greek-English). “Very strong is a working supplication of a righteous man” (Young’s Literal Translation).
Where the KJV translates the Greek word energeo as “effectual fervent” and the NASB translates it as “effective,” Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance says that the “authorized version” (KJV, I assume) translates it as “work” 12 out of the 21 occurrences of the word, and the other 9 occurrences represent 9 other separate translations of the word. So, Young’s Literal Translation appears to be the most accurate, if we go by the most common translation of the word. Yet, in looking up the word “working” in a Thesaurus, it rendered the word “operational,” which then rendered the word “effective,” as well as “active,” “functioning,” and/or “in force.” Encarta dictionary defines “operational” as “in proper working order and able to be used” and/or “ready for combat or maneuvers.”
What I find here is that the NIV translation is the weakest, in that it fails to put the word “working” or “effective” as an adjective describing the type of prayer of a righteous man that is powerful (very strong). For, it appears to me from reading these various translations, and from the fact that the Lord brought the KJV of the verse to mind last night and this morning, that it is the “working” prayer of a righteous man that is powerful and effective, not just the prayer of a righteous man. The KJV translates this word “working” as “effectual fervent.” Fervent is defined as “showing ardent (dedicated or committed) or extremely passionate enthusiasm” (Encarta). And, effectual is defined as “potentially successful in producing a desired or intended result” (Encarta); and/or capable; powerful.
I also found that the two literal translations used the words “petition” and “supplication” instead of the word “prayer.” A petition is “an appeal or request to a higher authority or being.” An appeal is “an earnest or urgent request to somebody for something,” which would fit with the word “fervent.” And, a supplication is “a humble and sincere appeal to somebody who has the power to grant a request.” A prayer, nonetheless, can be “a spoken or unspoken address to God... It may express praise, thanksgiving, confession, or a request for something such as help or somebody's well-being.” [All Definitions from Encarta]
So, how can our prayers (petitions; supplications; appeals; requests) to God be “working” prayers? In other words, how can our prayers to God be in proper working order and able to be used, and how can they be (spiritually speaking) combat ready?
James 5:16a says: Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.
So, confession of sin is a prerequisite of “working” prayer that is powerful and effective.
James 1:1-8 says: Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.
So, a “working” prayer is a prayer of perseverance (persistence; stick-to-it; endurance; pressing on) and of faith, which believes God will answer the prayer.
Matthew 6:5-15 says: “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
“This, then, is how you should pray:
“‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.’
For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
I believe we can conclude here that a “working” prayer is not done to be seen of men (for show), nor does it involve repeating meaningless phrases by rote or ritual that do not represent the true intent of the heart. Jesus said, “’These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me’” (Matt. 15:8). Instead, a “working” prayer is one that honors and gives proper respect to God the Father, and that prays for God’s will to be done. Jesus, when he prayed at Gethsemane prior to his arrest and crucifixion, prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” As well, a “working” prayer is one that involves forgiveness of those who have sinned against us. We cannot expect God to hear and to answer our prayers if we are holding on to sin in our own lives, and/or if we are refusing to forgive others as Christ has forgiven us.
James 4:1-6 says: What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You want something but don’t get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.
You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. Or do you think Scripture says without reason that the spirit he caused to live in us envies intensely? But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says:
“God opposes the proud
but gives grace to the humble.”
Lastly, though this is certainly not an exhaustive study on the subject of “working” prayer, is that “working” prayer is unselfish, humble, and it has the things of God in mind, not the things of this world. It does not stem from our own selfish wants and desires, nor is its goal to have our own fleshly appetites and desires fulfilled in order to bring pleasure to ourselves. Instead, it seeks first God’s kingdom and his righteousness.
My heart’s desire is to pray with this kind of “working” prayer that is powerful and effective. I am praying through each of these characteristic traits of a “working” prayer, and I am asking God to reveal to me where I lack these characteristic traits so that I can repent of anything that might be hindering my prayers from being answered, and so that I can, in the power of the working of the Holy Spirit within me, begin to implement these potentially missing traits into my own life, and can begin to see more of my prayers being answered.
The Lord brought this song to mind when I was concluding my notes on this study:
Just a Closer Walk with Thee / Unknown
I am weak, but Thou art strong,
Jesus, keep me from all wrong,
I’ll be satisfied as long
As I walk, let me walk close to Thee.
Just a closer walk with Thee,
Grant it, Jesus, is my plea,
Daily walking close to Thee,
Let it be, dear Lord, let it be.
When my feeble life is o’er,
Time for me will be no more,
Guide me gently, safely o’er
To Thy kingdom, dear Lord, to Thy shore.
Just a closer walk with Thee,
Grant it, Jesus, is my plea,
Daily walking close to Thee,
Let it be, dear Lord, let it be.
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