By Dennis R. Smith

 

In that wonderful little Book of James, our Lord’s Brother wrote, “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much” (James 5:16b). The importance of prayer can be seen in the many passages which inform us of the need as well as necessity of praying and to do so often. The Apostle Paul said, “pray without ceasing” (1^st Thess. 5:17). We are to pray in the public assembly, we are to pray for the sick, our leadership both in the church and for our country and for the world. These are all very, very important. In looking at our text it seems to suggest that the most effective prayer is that of our own private prayers. After all, it was Jesus who endorsed the need for the private prayer: “And when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to the Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly” (Matt. 6:6).   This is not to say that all our prayers are in secret for there is always the need for families to pray together; husbands and wives to pray together and the need “to pray every where” (1^st Tim. 2:8). However, may I suggest that the private prayer ranks very high in being the basis of a strong faith. Remember, “Without faith it is impossible to please God” (Heb. 11:6). While there are many other advantages in the private prayer, surely we know that God, through His Son, just likes to hear from us on a regular basis. (Requested by a dear Sister in Christ)