Praying fervently is one of the keys to effective prayer. Fervent prayer means praying ardently, with passion, and with deep feeling.
When someone watches you pray, they should be able to describe your prayer with words such as passionate, enthusiastic, zealous, fanatical, impassioned, keen, avid, burning, ardent, and eager.
The Bible offers numerous examples of people whose fervent prayers yielded great results.
Elijah’s Fervent Prayer for Rain
Elijah’s prayer for rain is perhaps the most well-known example of fervent prayer. When he prayed for rain, he bent over and cast himself down upon the earth, with his face between his knees.
His prayer was so intense that his servant could not help but notice it. After praying fervently for seven times, a small cloud appeared, and soon there was a great rain.
Elijah’s example of fervent prayer is one that we can emulate. When we pray for God’s blessings, we can pray with the same intensity and zeal as Elijah. We can pray for God’s blessings to rain down on our ministry, on our family, on our finances, and on every area of our lives.
Hannah’s Fervent Prayer for a Child
Hannah’s tearful and emotional prayer for a child also yielded fantastic results. She was in bitterness of soul and prayed unto the Lord with all her heart.
She vowed a vow, promising to give her child unto the Lord all the days of his life.
As she continued praying, Eli the priest marked her mouth and thought she had been drunken. But Hannah explained that she was praying with all her heart and soul.
God heard Hannah’s prayer, and she conceived and gave birth to a son, Samuel. She kept her vow and gave him up to the Lord to serve in the temple.
Hannah’s example shows us that we can pray fervently for our needs and desires. We can pour out our hearts before the Lord and trust that He will hear us and answer us according to His will.
The Importance of Fervency in Prayer
Fervency in prayer is not just a matter of emotion or feeling. It is a matter of faith, trust, and obedience. When we pray fervently, we are expressing our faith in God’s power, His love, and His goodness.
We are trusting Him to answer our prayers according to His will, not ours. We are obeying His command to pray without ceasing and to come boldly before His throne of grace.
Fervency in prayer also involves persistence and perseverance. It is not a one-time event but a continual attitude of prayer. Jesus Himself encouraged us to be persistent in prayer, to keep asking, seeking, and knocking until we receive an answer.
He told the parable of the persistent widow who kept coming to the judge until he granted her request. He also told us to pray and not give up, to pray in faith, believing that we have received what we ask for.
How to Pray Fervently
Praying fervently is not a technique or formula. It is an attitude of the heart. However, there are some practical steps we can take to help us pray with more fervency:
1. Focus on God’s Character
The first step to praying fervently is to focus on God’s character. Remember who God is and what He has done in the past. This will give you the faith and confidence to know that He can do it again.
Spend some time meditating on His word and His promises. Declare them out loud in faith, believing that He will do what He has promised.
When we pray, we should focus on God’s character, His power, and His love. We should remember that He is a faithful God who keeps His promises, a loving God who cares for His children, and a powerful God who can do all things.
Focusing on God’s character will increase our faith and confidence in Him and motivate us to pray with more passion and zeal.
God is faithful and true. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He is all-powerful, all-knowing, and ever-present. He is love, mercy, grace, and kindness. He is the God who parted the Red Sea, who raised Lazarus from the dead, who healed the blind man, and who calmed the storm.
He is the God who created the heavens and the earth, and who sustains them by the power of His word. When we focus on God’s character, we are reminded of His greatness, and we can approach Him with reverence and awe.
2. Believe God’s Promises
The second step to praying fervently is to believe God’s promises. He has promised to hear our prayers and to answer them. He has promised to never leave us or forsake us.
He has promised to give us peace that surpasses all understanding. He has promised to give us wisdom when we ask for it. He has promised to be with us always, even to the end of the age.
Believing God’s promises requires faith. Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. We may not see the answer to our prayers immediately, but we must trust that God is working behind the scenes to bring it to pass.
We must believe that His promises are true, even when circumstances seem to contradict them. We must hold fast to our confession of faith, knowing that God is faithful to His word.
3. Pray in the Spirit
The third step to praying fervently is to pray in the Spirit. This means praying in tongues, which is a spiritual language given by the Holy Spirit. Praying in tongues is a powerful way to connect with God on a deeper level.
It is a way to bypass our limited understanding and allow the Holy Spirit to pray through us. When we pray in tongues, we are praying according to God’s will, even if we don’t understand what we are saying.
Praying in the Spirit also builds up our faith. The Bible says that when we pray in tongues, we edify ourselves. This means that we are building up our faith and strengthening our spirit.
It is like exercising a muscle. The more we do it, the stronger we become. Praying in tongues also helps us to pray when we don’t know what to pray for. The Holy Spirit knows what we need, and He helps us to pray according to God’s will.
4. Be Persistent
The fourth step to praying fervently is to be persistent. Don’t give up on your prayers just because you don’t see an immediate answer. Keep praying, keep believing, and keep trusting God. The Bible says that we should pray without ceasing.
This doesn’t mean that we should be praying all the time, but it means that we should have a persistent attitude of prayer. We should be continually bringing our requests before God, knowing that He hears us and will answer us in His perfect timing.
Jesus gave us an example of persistence in prayer in the parable of the persistent widow. In Luke 18:1-8, Jesus tells the story of a widow who kept going to a judge to plead her case.
The judge was not a righteous man, but because the widow kept coming to him, he finally granted her request. Jesus said that if an unrighteous judge will grant the request of a persistent widow, how much more will God, who is loving and just, answer the prayers of His children who persistently come to Him!
5. Trust in God’s Sovereignty
Another important aspect of effective prayer is trust in God’s sovereignty. We must remember that God is in control of all things and that His plans and purposes are perfect.
This means that even if we don’t understand why things are happening the way they are, we can trust that God is working all things together for our good and His glory (Romans 8:28).
When we pray, we should come before God with a heart of submission, recognizing that His ways are higher than our ways and His thoughts are higher than our thoughts (Isaiah 55:8-9).
We can trust that even if God doesn’t answer our prayers in the way we expect or desire, He is still working in our lives and accomplishing His purposes.
6. Pray in Jesus’ Name
Jesus taught us to pray in His name (John 14:13-14), which means that we come to God in prayer through the merits of Jesus Christ. We don’t have the ability to approach God on our own, but through the finished work of Jesus on the cross, we have access to the Father.
When we pray in Jesus’ name, we are acknowledging that our salvation and access to God is solely through Him. We are also affirming our belief in His power and authority, and our dependence on Him for all things.
7. Pray with Thanksgiving
Philippians 4:6 tells us to “be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.”
When we pray, it’s important to not only make our requests known to God, but to also thank Him for all He has done and continues to do in our lives.
Thanksgiving helps us to cultivate a heart of gratitude and trust in God’s goodness. It also reminds us of His faithfulness in the past, which gives us hope for the future.
8. Pray with Persistence and Perseverance
As mentioned earlier, persistence is an important aspect of effective prayer. We must continue to bring our requests before God, even if we don’t see immediate answers. This requires perseverance and faith that God will answer in His perfect timing and in His perfect way.
In addition to persistence, we must also persevere in prayer during difficult times. When we face trials and hardships, it’s easy to become discouraged and give up on prayer. However, it’s during these times that we need to lean into prayer and trust in God’s goodness and faithfulness.
Final Words
In conclusion, prayer is a powerful tool that God has given us to communicate with Him and seek His will for our lives. By focusing on God’s character, trusting in His sovereignty, praying in Jesus’ name, thanking Him for all He has done, and persistently persevering in prayer, we can experience the power and effectiveness of prayer in our lives.
Through fervent prayer, we are able to tap into the infinite wisdom and grace of God, receiving the guidance and strength we need to navigate life’s challenges and fulfill
