In the 1980's, I was having meetings all over the United States for radio audiences. I would go into the city where I was on radio, rent a meeting room at convention center or hotel and meet for two or three days with the radio audience.
One time, in reading about OT prophets, I noticed how they prayed for people.
I innocently, and stupidly, announced to my radio audience I would have a meeting and pray for people.
I arrived at the Holiday Inn, where I had booked a room for the meeting, and was shocked at what I found. The room was packed with people ... wall to wall.
Myself, I would rather hear the Word of God than go to a meeting filled with prayers.
I'm not much good at prayers. It seems such a simple matter to me. I pray and God answers my prayer. That's that.
But by this one meeting I saw how greedy and ineffectual most church people are ... wanting something they think another person can get for them which they have not been able to get for themselves through prayer. Thieves, crooks, deceivers!
*****
One time, I was speaking at a church and the pastor called a prayer line for me to pray over people. I was amazed at how many flocked to that line wanting something they could not get themselves by prayer.
I walked up to a very big fat black woman. I said, "And what is it you want God to do for you."
She replied: "I's jest wants more of God."
I said: "God will tell me what you are doing."
She screamed out, waving her hands in the air, saying: "OH, NO, Lord ... Don't tell her!"
*****
That was certainly an effectual, fervent prayer ... and it brought the house down!
*****
I hate religious things and most prayers are so contrived, so filled with pretense, hypocrisy, they make a person hearing them sick.
*****
When I lived in Clovis, NM, USA, the family across the street from me were "home schoolers". They had 4 children and often had many other children meeting in school classes at their home. They were very religious.
One day, about 12 children and adults were in the front yard in a circle, holding hands, heads bowed.
I was horrified!
My mother broke her hip during that time. I got into a very difficult moment after bringing her home from hospital. She got on commode and I couldn't get her off. I ran across the street for help. The husband, who was also very religious, came over but with reluctance, I thought.
A year or so later, there was a WWII movie, Pearl Harbor, and I thought my mother might enjoy seeing this movie so I took her to the theater, It was a struggle, for her wheelchair was heavy and awkward to set up after it was folded. But I managed to get it out of car and get her into wheelchair and I rolled it into the theater. There was an open area in the seating which was about 1/2 way back from the screen. I decided to get her to the front row. I struggled with her but finally got her seated and got her wheelchair folded up and out of the way. I glanced at the row of people seated directly behind us. There sat that neighbor and his wife and 4 children (one was teenaged boy). I was amazed that none of them came voluntarily to help when I was trying to get my mother out of wheelchair and into seat.
Religious people are just terrible. Modern Sadducees and Pharisees.
Later I was giving away an IBM typewriter which I no longer used, having a computer. This teenaged boy from across the street quickly came to my house wanting that typewriter. I gave it to him.
*****
James 1:27 ... Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.
No wonder prayer lines are so long with people wanting you to try to get things for them that they haven't been able to get for themselves. Their insides are so awful and they are so hypocritical is it any wonder God ignores them.
I ignore them also when they come to me. Pastors from around the world are always sending me emails wanting me to pray for something they can't get. Then they want me to send them money, Bibles, books ... I just delete these emails and put them into SPAM on computer so they won't be delivered again to my sight.
As we go forward with this book, maybe we can view some effectual fervent prayers of righteous men and women ... there are probably a few of those out there.
Joan Boney