[ZNPaaneah]

I think that many of us when we pray would like the Lord to hear us. To hear us when we call.

In the same way the Lord tells Saul that to obey is better than sacrifice. The Lord also wants us to hear Him when He calls.

We are probably familiar with these preachers who hawk God's word and say "you can't out give God". So I would ask, can you out listen God? That would be a good experiment. Let's see if you can be more attentive to God's speaking than God is to yours?

James says the "effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much". Interesting criteria. What is "effectual fervent" prayer? Well, when you are praying to be saved, that is my best example of fervent prayer. Perhaps you are drowning, perhaps you are about to be evicted, and yes, perhaps you are on death row. Now a person in that situation generally has a very specific prayer, something that can be done, something that is effectual.

But James also puts in the criteria "of a righteous man". There are many instances in the Bible where God admits that the unrighteous are crying fervently to Him, but that He will not hear them because they did not listen to Him. You cannot ignore God and be righteous. You cannot ignore the nagging conscience and be righteous. You cannot disobey God's word and be righteous.

So then, we know that God desires all men to be saved, that is His will. We also know that the "effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much". Put that together and the first step is to listen to God, to obey His word. Step 2 is to realize when you need God's intervention, and step 3 is that effectual fervent prayer. If you ignore step 1 then obviously your prayer may not avail very much.