If you're like most people, you can think of many times in your life when you prayed for something and never saw the answer - or what I call "the end of your faith" - come to pass. That's a problem God never intended for you to have. He has provided a way for you to see the end of your faith every single time you pray according to the Word!

The Fervent Prayer of a Righteous Man
So what are the elements of effective prayer that produce the desired outcome? Well, first of all, you have to get fervent about the answer to your prayer.

Consider this: Do you ever have a word of the Lord hit your heart and bless you so much that you just can't get away from it? Every time you go to the Word, you try to study other scriptures. You think, Now it's time for me to read something else in the Bible. But each time you do, your heart is drawn back to this particular scripture that just keeps on blessing you.

Why is it so difficult to go on to other scriptures in the Word at times like this? Because the Holy Spirit is moving on that particular scripture. It just "revs up" your spirit every time you read it. That place of fervency is the place from which you need to pray.

James 5:16 talks about this kind of fervent prayer: The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. The Amplified version says it this way: The earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available (dynamic in its working).

Now, notice that the righteous person in this verse isn't just saying something with his mouth. You see, fervor isn't something you project with your voice; it's something that comes forth from your heart.

The truth is, you can sound bold with your voice and yet be quivering with fear in your heart. Thus, fervency is a condition of the heart, and it comes through a constant tuning of the heart to heaven.

Pray God's Plan, Not Your Problem
So we see two characteristics mentioned in James 5:16 that effective pray-ers possess: they are righteous, and they are fervent.

However, there is another characteristic that must be present in order to pray effectively. Instead of fervently praying about the problem all the time, you must pray fervently about the plan of God for your situation.

However, if you're going to be fervent about the plan of God, you have to know the plan of God. That means you have to go to God's Word to find the answer concerning whatever you're praying about. Then you're going to have to get fervent about the answer. How do you do that? By meditating on the answer instead of the problem.

You're probably very familiar with what happens when you meditate on the problem all the time. You can get so fervent about your problem that you just have to do something - and that "something" is usually to cry!

But just start meditating on God's promises. Let His plan for your situation grow inside of you until it's so big in your spirit that you think you're going to burst.

Soon you'll get so fervent in your heart concerning the answer to your prayers that you won't be able to sit in your seat - you'll just have to do something. That's the time to open your mouth and begin to praise God for the outcome of your faith!

Source: The End of Our Faith by Lynne Hammond
Excerpt permission granted by Harrison House Publishers