I am quite moved as I read, let my mind rehearse and my spirit be saturated of what has been said and given to us over and over again. One is the need of patience in the time of adversity, afflictions, sickness and things that are not going the way we feel they should. Patience. Secondly, I’m moved that he gives us some way of escape when these things come our way. I love the Lord because He knows how to supply all of our needs according to His riches in glory. In times of distress He lets us know He’s here and how you can receive help. No one is excluded. If you do it according to the will of God you can get help. Go by His ingredient, His agenda. He is not a man that He would lie, but He’s a God of truth and integrity. Integrity that can’t be breached by any type of circumstance. Why, because He is God all by Himself. I feel good talking about this.

It’s something about getting help from God because He told us if we are in a certain type of condition we could call Him for help. Everybody doesn’t fit the bill. Sometimes we call our cronies and buddies instead of the people that need to be called and we stay in that shape. God has given us what we need. We need people who know how to pray effectual. We need a person who knows how to pray a fervent prayer. In other words, someone who knows how to pray effectively. It’s sad to say that everybody doesn’t know how to pray effectively. Some prayers are just routine prayers. Some can quote certain prayers and they say it all the time half sleep, but it’s a prayer that’s routinely prayed. I have been saying to various ones, to get out of the routine and get into a mode that pleases God even in our prayer. James says that the effectual fervent prayer of a person is effective; they have the ability. Effectual means having the ability to produce an effect. We’ve got to be able to produce. We need the ability to break through the tiles in the ceiling and go beyond the acoustical structure of this building. Prayer has got to be effectual. We need the ability to break through and reach the throne of God. When we began to look at fervent it means boiling, hot. To receive what we want from prayer let that prayer be hot, boiling, glowing, heat. We need to learn how to prayer until drops of sweat falls from the brow. Pray until it feels naturally uncomfortable. We need to be determined we want our prayer to be fervent, effectual. That’s what it takes in prayer. Prayer means to ask with earnestness, humility. Knowing whom you’re praying to. You’re not praying to a human being or someone whose on the same plain you are. You are praying to the almighty God. Understand that prayer is talking. We’ve got to be humble, come before Him without any type of haughtiness. I know that we can come boldly, but there’s a spirit one must possess in going to the throne of God. When you began to pray reverence is given. It’s no one like the one you’re praying to. He is a God that can do everything, anything. He can’t fail. There is not on iota of failure in God. Failure isn’t part of His character at all. He is on the side of victorious. When you talk about prayer you are talking about thanks and thanksgiving; praise that is given to the one whom you are praying to. We must be stirred up. We must be effective with fervency in prayer so it can produce an effect that you want to have. I believe God answers everybody’s prayer. It may not be the way you want it, but He’ll answer your prayer. God is able to do it. It is something beautiful when we look at what James is saying. He let’s us know that we must have sincerity about ourselves when we pray. He even gives us an illustration about Elias. Elias prayed that it would not rain. The sincerity of his prayer reached the throne of God and God dried up the clouds and it didn’t rain for the space of 6 months. The Bible says he prayed again with effectiveness, sincerity and God ended the drought and opened the clouds up and a burst of rain came forth. Don’t tell me that God doesn’t hear that kind of prayer. God knows how to do it. Faith in God must come before we ask in sincerity. Hebrews 11 says "He that cometh to God must believe that He is and He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him." Not only that, but it must be a positive faith. Positive faith will bring you positive results.

In Matthew 21, the Lord says "All things whatsoever you ask in prayer believing you shall receive." We’ve got to have a positive faith. James also says when you talk to God don’t ask amiss, not wavering as though He is a wishy-washy God. We go to Him with firmness and with a positive faith. Say Lord I believe, I ask you for it and you will answer my prayers. God’s will must be taken into account. It’s good for us to know what the will of the Lord is when we began to pray. 1 John 5 says "And this is the confidence that we have in Him, that, if we ask any thing according to His will, he heareth us…" Don’t think that God is going to give you something not according to His will. That’s the reason we need to learn how to pray so we can ask Him what His will is concerning you. I believe if God is ready for you to go through something it’s no need to ask God to relieve you of that. I know we have our ideas, but He doesn’t do it like that. He told the man of God you’ve prayed 3 times and it hasn’t been done. For you know what it is, but my grace is sufficient for you. We need to understand what the will of God is concerning us. Sometimes the only time God can talk to us is when we are on our back. When you’re so busy, working 2 and 3 jobs, not coming to church, Bible class, prayer meeting or anything. When you get too busy God says I know where to put you. I will allow you to be on your back and you can’t move. You will listen to what I have to say. It’s no sense for any of us to allow that type of situation to come upon us. We need to know what the will of God is concerning us. We must understand that prayer can be the very tool that is working in our behalf. I know He is a wonder working God; He’s working wonders right now. All I have to do is ask Him for it. Right now the devil is mad because every time you look around he wants you to be defeated, but if you just have the patience to wait on God and stay before Him He knows what’s going to come your way. As I look around I can see the enemy totally upset when he wants somebody to fail and the Lord keeps on blessing. Sometimes it’s good to have an inside with God. People don’t like you to have an inside with God almighty. They want you to hang on the fringes and be meager and a beggar, but my God didn’t tell me to be meager or a beggar. He said anything I ask. God is ready, ready, ready. You don’t know how much you can be blessed until you get Him on the inside and know the will of God. Some right now wants to get a $300,000 or half million-dollar house somewhere on a 3 or 4 acre piece of land with ponies but God said right now you couldn’t handle that. You can handle your 2-bedroom house or apartment right now, but if you wait on me you don’t know what I’m going to give you. You’ve got to wait on him. He knows how to deliver you. Sometimes we want to lean on the arm of flesh, but flesh will fail you. We’ve got a mighty God. The songwriter says leaning, leaning, leaning on His everlasting arm. We need to learn how to lean on the arm of Him who can take us out of our conditions. Lean on the arm of the one who can help us out of our poverty, dilemma and in all of our situations. We’ve got to know how to approach God and approach Him right. Tell Him anyway you bless me Lord, I’m going to have a filling of satisfaction; anyway you bless me. You might not bless me with it all right now, but I know that you are not going to withhold no good thing from me. So, I’m going to wait and keep on thanking you. I’m going to take on the spirit of Israel, Jacob; I’m going to hold on to you until I get my total blessing. I’m going to wait. The Lord is ready to do it for you. Quit listening to die hard folks. They don’t know the blessing may come with a flashlight but God said I will bless you. Wait on me, hallelujah.

Learn how to pray with a heat, fervency, effectual. God knows exactly where you are. Don’t let the devil make you feel defeated and keep you down in the dumps. He might not come when I want Him, but He’s going to be on time. Thank you Lord, hallelujah. In speaking of patience let’s notice the patience of Job. He said I might lie here stinking and my friends might be talking about me, but I know that my redeemer liveth. I know who He is and I’m going to wait until I get out of my bed because the Lord is going to bless me. He’s going to bless you. I love Him; I thank Him for all He’s doing. I bless Him for He has blessed me and yet is blessing me. He’s not through; He’s not finished. He’s not through with me. Don’t look at me or put me down now because God is not through with me and I’m going to wait on Him. He’s going to do something for me. Somebody might say they’ve been feeling bad for a long time but don’t you give up. Just hold on a little while longer; your deliverance, your salvation is on the way. Hold on. Wait until your change comes; wait on the Lord, wait on Him.

Don’t stop praying while your prayer maybe cold, keep on praying until your prayer heats up. Until it starts boiling, tell the Lord you know all about it, the way I take, My downsitting, and my uprising. You know Jesus. I’m going to hold on to you. For I know you’re going to bless me and lift me up. Can’t nobody do you like Jesus, hallelujah! You can’t get upset if you are not delivered in a week, 2 weeks, month or a year. The children of Israel were in a situation for over 400 years, but the Psalmist says God heard the prayer and supplication of His people over the years. You can’t stop praying because many of you have children and family somewhere. You’ve got to tell the Lord I know you’re there and whenever you sweep on through here I want you to bless my family and children. Help me, help them. Pray until it’s hot. Pray, pray, pray. The Lord is on my side, he hasn’t left me and I’m going to hold on. You can get burnt out with a job and other things but it is dangerous to get burnt out with the Lord. Heaven will pass away, but the Word of God is going to stand firm and will last. My brothers and sisters don’t stop praying, pray. The prayer must stay hot, fervent and effectual. Pray, it availeth much, not little, but much. Effectual fervent prayer of the righteous availeth much.

© 2001 Bishop Alphonso Scott, All Rights Reserved