***And you shall know the truth. And the truth will set you free!!!***

James 5:16-18 The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.
17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it
would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months.
18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its
fruit.
This tells us;
1. Ordinary people like you and me can gain extraordinary results if we
simply employ the power of prayer.
2. The degree of result is based on the degree of effectiveness and fervency.
William Carey the great missionary to India, who originated the much-said
statement, 'God does nothing but in answer to prayer'.
Martin Luther of Germany, possibly the most pivotal man in the entire
Reformation of the 15th Century said, 'I have so much work to do, that I cannot get
along without giving three hours daily of my best time to prayer'.
"Prayer," said Robert Law, "is not getting man's will done in heaven. It's getting God's
will done on earth.'
Jonathan Edwards the man God used for the Great Awakening in America in the
17th Century records, 'When I was a boy I used to pray 5 times a day in secret,
E.M. Bounds himself says, 'Prayer has in it the possibility to affect everything which
affects us'.
R.A. Torrey preached, ''Prayer is the key that unlocks all the storehouses of God's
infinite grace and power.
Ralph Herring says, 'Prayer is a summit meeting in the very throne room of the
Universe'.
Leonard Ravenhill writes, 'One might estimate the weight of the world, tell the size of
the celestial city, count the stars of heaven, measure the speed of lightening, tell the time of
the rising and setting of the sun - but you cannot estimate the power of prayer. Prayer is as
vast as God is, because God is behind it. Prayer is as mighty as God is because He has
committed Himself to answer it’.
We can attempt to explain away the slowness of revival taking deep root in
Australian hearts by all kinds of explanations like, the people aren't interested,
there's no deep Christian heritage, the ground is hard. None of these will suffice.
Anywhere in the world will become ground for a national revival if God's people
will pray. It doesn't matter where, when, what government is in power, what
demons are over the country, what the sins of the nation are, prayer is the answer
for breaking through and arousing a hunger for God in the people, and awakening
people to their spiritual needs.
Our conditions are no worse than other times in history when great revival broke
out.
In the 18th Century, the French revolution was as terroristic as anything we've
seen in our days. America had declared its rights of man in 1776. Voltaire was
preaching that the church was only a system of oppression for the human spirit,
and along with Tom Paine declared, 'Christianity will be forgotten in 30 years'. Karl
Marx agreed. The so-called 'new morality' had arisen. Christianity was held in
almost universal contempt. A poll taken at Harvard revealed there was not one
believing student. Princeton the Evangelical College found two.
In the wake of the American revolution, out of 5 million people, 300,000 were
confirmed alcoholics. 15,000 of them died each year. Bank robberies were a daily
occurrence. The Methodists were losing more members than they were gaining.
The Baptists said it was the worst times they had seen. The Protestant Episcopal
Bishop of New York quit work because he had not seen anyone join the church for
such a long time he decided his services were no longer needed in the city.
But in 1740s, John Erksine of Edinburgh published a pamphlet encouraging people
to pray for Scotland and elsewhere. His writings reached Jonathan Edwards in the
USA. He picked up the challenge and wrote a treatise called, 'A humble attempt
to promote Explicit Agreement and Visible union of God's people in
extraordinary Prayer for the Revival of religion and the advancement of Christ's
Kingdom'.
For 40 years John Erksine continued this 'Concert of Prayer', around the world,
then in 1781 at St. Just Church in Cornwall at 3.00 am, intercessors met to sing and
pray. The heavens opened. They prayed through until 9.00 am and re-gathered on
Christmas evening They continued through January and February. By March they
were praying until midnight. Two years later John Wesley visited the area and
records, 'This country is all on fire and the flame is spreading from village to village'.
Right across England people were coming to Christ, not just through the preaching
meetings, but in the prayer meetings. Many came to scoff but were thrown to
ground by the power of the Spirit. Sometimes it was noisy, and other times it was
quiet, but there was a ceaseless outpouring of the Spirit. Whole denominations
doubled, tripled and quadrupled in the next few years. This move of the Spirit
swept from England to Wales, Scotland, USA, Canada and then on to third world
countries.
This revival had an amazing effect on the social order of the day as well. William
Wilberforce, William Pitt, Edmond Bourke, Charles Fox all worked towards the
abolition of the slave trade in 1807. Florence Nightingale founded modern nursing.
John Howard and Elizabeth Fry transformed the Prison system. Ashley Cooper
came to the rescue of the working poor ending their 16 hour, 7 day a week grind.
James 5:16 The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.
Fervent prayer is enthusiasm. It's prayer that has the fire of God in it. It's praying
with passion. It's feeling what you're praying with your heart. It's giving a burden
words. It's praying with energy.
Lev 6:13 A fire shall always be burning on the altar; it shall never go out.
Two elements of effective prayer are;
1. The prayer of faith. Faith is based on the promises of God.
2 Tim 1:7 God has not given to us a spirit of fear but of power, love, and a sound
mind
Mk 11:23 Whosoever shall say to this mountain Be thou removed and cast into the
sea and shall not doubt in his heart but shall believe that those things he says shall
come to pass he shall have whatsoever he says
Mk 11:24 What things soever you desire when you pray believe that you receive
them and you shall have them
Heb 10:23 Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering for He who
made the promise is faithful.
Is 43:2 FEAR NOT FOR I AM WITH YOU
Phil 4:19 My God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by
Christ Jesus.
Phil 4:13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me
Matt 19:26 With God all things are possible
Luke 1:37 Nothing is impossible to him who believes
2 Cor 2:14 Thanks be unto God who always causes us to triumph
John 14:14 If you ask me anything in My Name I will do it
John 14:13 Whatever you ask in my Name, that will I do
Matt 7:7 Ask and you shall receive, Knock and it shall be opened to you, Seek and
you shall find.
Mark 9:23 All things are possible to him who believes.
Matt 21:22 All things you ask in prayer, believing you shall receive.
Heb 13:5 I will never leave you or forsake you.
3 John 2 Beloved I wish above all things that you prosper and be in health even as
your soul prospers.
1 John 5:4 Whatever is born of God overcomes the world and this is the victory that
overcomes the world, even our faith
1 John 4:4 Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world.
Is 54:17 No weapon that is formed against you shall prosper…
Phil 4:6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and
supplication with thanksgiving make your requests known to God
Ps 55:22 Cast all your burdens upon the Lord and He will sustain you.
Ps 37:3 Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Psa 37:5 Commit your way to the Lord, trust in Him and He will do it.
Rom 8:28All things work together for good to those who love God.
2. United Prayer.
Jehoshaphat led the nation into victory after he united them all with their families
in prayer.
120 disciples gathered together in unity in the Upper Room praying for ten days
and the church was birthed.
The whole church came together and prayed when Peter was imprisoned. Angels
came and set the man free.
Paul and Silas prayed and sang together in unity and not only get themselves set
free. They destroyed an entire prison and set all the prisoners free.
That's why we're here. To set a city free with united, faith-filled energetic,
enthusiastic prayers filled with fire.
1 Kings 18:30-39 Then Elijah said to all the people, "Come near to me." So all the
people came near to him. And he repaired the altar of the LORD that was
broken down. 31 And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the
tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the LORD had come,
saying,"Israel shall be your name." 32 Then with the stones he built an altar in
the name of the LORD; and he made a trench around the altar large enough to
hold two seahs of seed. 33 And he put the wood in order , cut the bull in pieces,
and laid it on the wood, and said, "Fill four waterpots with water, and pour it on
the burnt sacrifice and on the wood." 34 Then he said, "Do it a second time," and
they did it a second time; and he said, "Do it a third time," and they did it a third
time. 35 So the water ran all around the altar; and he also filled the trench with
water.
36 And it came to pass, at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that
Elijah the prophet came near and said, "LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and
Israel, let it be known this day that You are God in Israel and I am Your servant,
and that I have done all these things at Your word. 37 Hear me, O LORD, hear
me, that this people may know that You are the LORD God, and that You have
turned their hearts back to You again."
38 Then the fire of the LORD fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the
wood and the stones and the dust, and it licked up the water that was in the
trench. 39 Now when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces; and they
said,"The LORD, He is God! The LORD, He is God!"
NKJV

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