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The Power of Effectual Prayer
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
This is one of the most powerful verses in the New Testament. The promise of supernatural restoration is given to those who meet these specific qualifications.
1) Confess your trespasses to one another. - This is not specifically just talking about sins but faults and failures. Although this can apply to many areas, I believe in these days the biggest one is resentment and unforgiveness. Unforgiveness closes the windows of heaven. Jesus said,
"Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them. βAnd whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses. 26 But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses." Mark 11:24-26
Jesus connects believing and receiving answers to prayer to forgiveness. The strategy of the enemy is to get you to feel like a victim and then JUSTIFY your resentment and unforgiveness. Forgiving is NOT agreeing that what the other person did to you was right, it's releasing them from judgement and giving it to God to handle. Whether it's a personal offense like being assaulted or betrayed, or a global offense like racism, or political/religious persecution. No matter the offense, if we want our prayers to be effective WE must forgive.
2) Pray for one another. - God is looking for intercessors. Those who will spend more of their time praying for others needs than for themselves. It is a selfless motive of prayer. Those who will pray till they see Christ fully former in others. The apostle Paul wrote about his life of intercession.. "My little children, for whom I labor in birth again until Christ is formed in you"
(Ga 4:19).- Paul equated his intercession to the travail of giving birth. Not just for healing or blessing but for Christ to be fully formed in them.
3) Effectual Fervant Prayer - comes from a greek word, energeo. Which implies having divine energy to accomplish its purpose. Paul knew that without the anointing of the Holy Spirit empowering our prayers they had little effect. While Paul was in prison he wrote about His Holy Spirit empowered pray life... "that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. To this end I also labor, striving according to His working which works in me mightily" Col 1:28β29). Paul labored in Prayer even while in prison. This verse has to be about the work he accomplished in prayer because he was incarcerated. Paul called his prayer life LABOR and STRIVING.
Before Dr Morris Cerullo, my Spiritual father, went to be with the Lord, he kept prophesying that the last great anointing to be released BEFORE Christ return was an EndTime Prayer Anointing.
In 2015 God spoke to me during an incredible experience. He said, 'Your prayers will always be far more powerful than your preaching." As most of you know, I am known around the world for my revelation preaching, but God says the Prayers are MORE powerful. In 2020, while traveling the nation to all 48 lower states, 105 cities and 175 locations on a prophetic prayer mission, God spoke again. He said, "In the days ahead you are going to be known more for your prayers than even your preaching." I realized there was coming a powerful shift in the focus of our ministry.
I am not going to stop preaching but this call to strategic spiritual warfare prayer is growing exponentially in me. One HUGE area God has used me in is to go ON LOCATION for prophetic prayer. There is something about this truth from Joshua 1:3 "Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given you."
There is something that happens in my life when I physically step foot in a key area. It's hard to explain but the Spirit of God flows mightily for intercession. We have seen over the years incredible breakthroughs that are so unbelievable it's hard to write about them. All I can say is Nations have been impacted, violence stopped, coups adverted, and spiritual breakthrough have transpired These are not my words but the words of the leaders of these nations.
I say this NOT to draw any attention to myself but to God's commission. Once again a spiritual warfare prayer assignment has been given to me. We are leaving in just a couple days for Israel, and many locations in Europe. These are all pivotal places in the global events that are effecting all of us. The burden is heavy and the timing is NOW.
After we scheduled the trip in just the last few weeks, we realized last night that we are on the ground, not counting traveling days, for exactly 40 Days... Wow, God is so prophetic that even without us trying, this mission of prayer is exactly 40 days. - I just receive it as another prophetic sign of Gods hand on us for this trip.
Please partner with us in prayer. If the Lord puts it on your heart to also financially support this Prayer Mission that would be greatly appreciated. As the Lord allows we will be posting of FB and through emails, updates on our mission.
Blessing to you.
Dr Steve Foss
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