James 5:16 - "The effectual fervent prayer of the righteous man avails much."

 

> Your effectiveness in prayer is identity-dependent.

 

Word-studies

1. effectual - energeo - energize, similar to an electrical current energizing a wire, bringing it to illuminate a light bulb. Think of prayer as energizing, moving situations from one stage to the next.

 

2. avail - isxyo - embodies strength engaging resistance. For believers, it signifies the Lord strengthening them with confrontative force to achieve all He gives faith for. That is, facing necessary resistance that brings what the Lord defines is success (His victory - compares 1 John 5:4 - "Whatever is born of God overcomes the world.")

 

Why do we need to understand our identity in prayer?

 

> Your perception of your identity profoundly influences your behaviour.

 

Reflections

1. Knowledge of your identity correlates directly with the authority you wield. Even Satan understands this truth!

 

Matthew 4:1-3

"Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry. 3 Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”"

 

2. Satan, people and circumstances will query your identity, based on what you have or what is missing in your life.

 

3. Just as your identity governs access in the physical realm, so it does in the spiritual realm. 

 

Matthew 8:5-9

"Now when Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, pleading with Him, 

 

6 saying, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralysed, dreadfully tormented.”

 

7 And Jesus said to him, “I will come and heal him.”

 

8 The centurion answered and said, “Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed. 9 For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”"

 

> So your words carry weight in the physical domain. But does it move the needle in the spiritual realm?

 

John 13:3-5

"Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and *that He had come from God and wa*s going to God

 

4 rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself. 

 

5 After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded."

 

In these scriptures (Matthew 8:5-9 and John 13:3-5), authority is recognised and exercised by individuals who understood their identity. 

 

In 2 Corinthians 5:21, we find that through Christ, we become examples of God's righteousness, demonstrating what we ought to be in His sight.

 

2 Corinthians 5:21

"For our sake He made Christ [virtually] to be sin Who knew no sin, so that in and through Him we might become [endued with, viewed as being in, and examples of] the righteousness of God [what we ought to be, approved and acceptable and in right relationship with Him, by His goodness]." [AMP Version]

 

To be righteous is to live in accordance with God’s standards, being free from guilt or sin, aligning one’s life with God’s principles. It signifies a deep connection to God’s character, central to maintaining a harmonious relationship with Him.

 

Elijah, in 1 Kings 17:1, declared drought as a consequence of his word, displaying his confidence in his identity before God.

 

1 Kings 17:1

"And Elijah the Tishbite, of the inhabitants of Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the Lord God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, except at my word.”"

 

The righteous man:

1. Stands in right relationship with God.

2. Comprehends his identity.

3. Gratefully acknowledges his identity and position as a gift from God.

 

Ephesians 2:6

"And He raised us up together with Him and made us sit down together [giving us joint seating with Him] in the heavenly sphere [by virtue of our being] in Christ Jesus (the Messiah, the Anointed One)." [AMP Version]

 

 

 

Father, by Your Spirit, help me to not lose sight of my identity in Christ. Let all voices contrary to who You have declared me to be be silenced. I bear the mark of Christ. Let Your Spirit bring to my remembrance always who I am in Christ.