1. Effective prayer Prayer is conversation with God; the meeting of the soul with God, not in contemplation or meditation, but in direct address to him. Prayer may be oral or mental, occasional or constant, expressive or formal. How people pray >---

2. Effective prayer Are any of you suffering hardships? You should pray. Are any of you happy? You should sing praises. 14 Are any of you sick? You should call for the elders of the church to come and pray over you, anointing you with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 Such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make you well. And if you have committed any sins, you will be forgiven. 16 Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results. 17 Elijah was as human as we are, and yet when he prayed earnestly that no rain would fall, none fell for three and a half years! 18 Then, when he prayed again, the sky sent down rain and the earth began to yield its crops. (James 5:13-18)

3. Effective prayer 1.effective prayer. 1 Kings 17 & 18 Stories of prayer in action ‘challenges our acceptance, that what we see has to be.’ 1. Story of faithful effective prayer (v17-18) 2. Confession and righteous effective prayers (v16) 3. Calling for the elders (v13-15)

4. Effective prayer How powerful do you feel on a scale of 1 to 10? …when working with teachers and children …when writing a document correctly …when asked to build something How powerful are your prayers?

5. Effective prayer Through prayer God heals, God restores, God brings wisdom, God clarifies, God brings salvation and everlasting life. GOD does it. Our part is to come to him, knowing that he is able. Ephesians 3:20 - Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Effective prayer is not DOWN to US, it’s UP to HIM!

6. Effective prayer Confession and Righteousness ‘Righteousness is the state of moral perfection required by God to enter heaven. However, the Bible clearly states that human beings cannot achieve righteousness through their own efforts: "Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God's sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin." (Romans 3:20, NIV). The law, or the Ten Commandments, shows us how far we fall short of God's standards. The only solution to that dilemma is God's plan of salvation.

7. Effective prayer Calling for the elders ‘…the elders bring and apply to the afflicted one the outward tangible sign of God’s covenant faithfulness in regard to human distress, and the pledge that, in adversity as in happiness, God’s plan does not miscarry Jesus prayer did not change the outcome, but his prayer kept his perspective in line with his Father’s will. Prayer may not see the answer we thought we wanted, but it will keep us in line with God’s will, even if it is difficult! And it will have a powerful outcome.