I got up early today to walk in the cool of what is predicted to be another hot day. With my camera in my hand, I headed out with my camera in my hand and a question for God in my heart.
After getting a few lovely photos of blooming grass and other blossoms, I almost headed back into the house for coffee with Jon which is one of my favorite things. But the question on my heart lingered so I kept walking. Besides, I wanted something from God to take with me into the day ahead.
At one corner of one of our wildflower gardens, I asked Him the question resting heavy on my heart, “What does it mean to be a fervent pray-er?” A few steps later I asked, “Is there a cost to this kind of praying – besides confession which is a biggie, I know. And I’ve been doing that with my friends, at Bible study, to Jonathan, and sometimes on my blog.” Oh, readers! The things these trusted ones know about me!
The questions on this topic kept coming and I kept walking. The last question I asked was, “What does fervent look like?”
Near the other corner of the field, I saw a glimmer of green shining in the morning sun. An iridescent glimmer on a coneflower. It’s hard for me to resist this kind of sighting – something in me insisted I look closer.
That’s when I found this little bee.
I moved nearer.
Her saddlebags were already partly loaded with pollen, but she wasn’t done.
When she stood on her head, I heard my laughter spin into the air as she, again and again, went deeper. A single word crossed my mind and my laughter stilled.
“Fervent.”
I stepped back onto the path, delighted God used a bee to illustrate His answer to me.
A few minutes ago, I turned to the verse that led me to this moment along the way with God this morning.
Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest (fervent KJV) prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results. (Italics mine) James 5:16 NLT
And to Strong’s Online Concordance. I didn’t want to misunderstand or misrepresent the Word of God. The Greek word is, Energeo. It’s a verb and can mean to “put forth power.”
I turned to Merriam-Webster too. I do love dictionaries! Here’s what I learned about the word fervent there: it’s an adjective used to modify a noun (in this case, prayer) and some synonyms are: intense, passionate, and on-fire.
My take-away: Praying this way for each other requires an investment of energy driven by the a holy fire.
It is so cool the way a desire for something from God and questions that pressed on my heart, led to a longer walk and then to the glimmer of green that was a pollen-seeking bee that led me to a new desire: to pray fervently for those who ask for it.
Do you have a prayer need today? Please leave a short request in the comments and I will pray for you.
Until Next Time,
Joy
My sons to return to God wholeheartedly. Ruth Picker
Praying for him to the Lord who knows and loves him. He is blessed to be your son, Ruth!
I love to get your emails. As I read them I always feel the presence of God tugging on my spirit. I think these two verses add meaning to “fervent prayer”. Eph.6:18 …praying in the Spirit…. Rom. 8:26 …the Spirit makes intercession for us with groanings that cannot be uttered. When my husband and I separated the first time, I would go to the prayer room at church and pray every morning before work. Most times I would pray so fervently that the Spirit would take over and all I could do was groan in travail. I thank God for those times with God. They got me through everyday and still do.
Hello, Marilyn! Thank you for sharing your heart and these passages of Scripture. I’m going to go pray for you now.