Bible Talk with Sister Deb: Unlocking the Miraculous Power of Fervent Prayer

How can fervent prayer transform your life? Discover the profound impact of deep, passion-filled communication with God in this episode of Bible Talk with Sister Deb Osborne. Drawing inspiration from James 5:16 and Romans 8:26, Sister Deb explores the incredible power and significance of earnest prayer. We delve into biblical examples such as the Apostle James, the early disciples, and Jesus himself, showing how persistent and heartfelt prayers can lead to miraculous happenings like the giving of the Holy Spirit and the healing of the sick. Sister Deb passionately encourages us to cultivate a deeper connection with God through focused and fervent prayer, highlighting that this powerful tool is accessible to all believers.

Join us as we explore the necessity of creating quiet, distraction-free spaces for prayer and the importance of seeking forgiveness and praying for others. Through the stories of Hannah, Daniel, and Elijah, we see how persistent prayer can bring about profound changes in our lives. Sister Deb emphasizes that the effectiveness of prayer is not confined to a chosen few but is available to anyone who prays with faith and boldness. Concluding her session with heartfelt reflections, Sister Deb leaves listeners with a sincere hope that the shared messages will be meaningful and impactful. Tune in to learn how you can become a prayer warrior and access God's grace and power to bring about change in your life.

Chapters

• 0:21 Fervent Prayer Power in Christianity
• 12:07 Power of Fervent Prayer Transformation
• 26:47 Bible Talk With Sister Deb

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:21

Hey, you're listening to Bible Talk with Sister Deb Osborne. Hey, you're listening to Bible Talk with Sister Deb Osborne. You can listen to the show on WIC 88.1 Christian radio station every Sunday at 5 pm. You can also listen to her show and much, much more on the 421 show podcast. You can listen to that on Google, apple and or whatever major platform you're streaming off of. For contact information, you can email Sister Deb at OsborneDebraK at gmailcom. That's O-S-B-O-R-N-E-D-E-B-R-A-K. At gmailcom. If you'd like to support the ministry, you can support it through PayPal slash H-O-R-A-K at gmailcom. If you'd like to support the ministry, you can support it through PayPal slash H-O-R-421 or you can go through the website at H-O-R-421showbuzzsproutcom. All shows are recorded live, no post editing, recorded at the 421 studio. For contact information for all your studio needs, you can email at hor421ministries at gmailcom. Phone number is 239-849-1502. And now we give you bible talk with sister deb.

Speaker 2: 1:46

Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. Thank you for being here on this version of Bible Talk. Today I am going to talk about fervent prayer. James 5 and 16 tells us that the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. And see, when I say fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. And see, when I say fervent prayer, I'm talking about a deep-focused and passion-filled prayer to God. I'm not talking about a prayer a day to keep the devil away. I'm not talking about God is great, god is good that you just say over your food just because your grandmother did. I'm not talking about quick and casual. I'm not talking about now I lay me down to sleep People.

Speaker 2: 2:27

One of the most powerful tools a Christian has is prayer and I'm talking about the deep, focused, passion-filled prayer to God. You know it's the most direct way to speak to God, to thank him for things that he's done and ask Him for things, or just to connect with Him. A deep, fervent prayer changes things. I can assure you, prayer warriors, that fervent prayer doesn't mean that our words must be fancy. Romans 8 and 26 tells us that the Holy Spirit will help us if we don't know what to pray, that the Spirit itself will make intercession for us, with groanings which cannot be uttered. See, I read somewhere that the Holy Spirit can translate our wails, our moans and our tears into prayers. You see, sisters and brothers, I'm not talking about. It's not all about the words, it's about our feelings and our passion for what we're praying about. Deep fervent prayer allows us to get past the surface. It allows us to dive into the depths of the Spirit and meet God at His throne. It requires us to have an open heart to the work that He'll do within us. The fruits of fervent prayer can be life-changing, and this is the kind of prayer that Jesus meant when he spoke of in Matthew 21, a faith that can move mountains. You know, people, this is a big difference between praying because we ought to and praying reverently because we care about a certain situation. See, when we pray reverently, it's a heartfelt prayer, a type of prayer that makes tremendous power available to us.

Speaker 2: 4:09

Effectual fervent prayer. Of course it's hard work, it's hard to do. I read somewhere it was said that the Apostle James prayed so fervently and so much on his knees that his knees became calloused like a camel's knees. I mean, wow, that's some praying. Knees became calloused like a camel's knees. I mean, wow, that's some praying People.

Speaker 2: 4:28

From Genesis to Revelation, the Bible has so much to say about prayer and there's no time in recent history that we need it than right now, right here and right now. Psalms 34 and 15 tells us that the eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous and his ears are open unto their cry. See, it's by fervent prayers that people get saved. Our loved ones get saved, our neighbors and our friends are saved, marriages are saved, people are healed. I mean, when somebody comes to you and asks you about fervent to pray fervently for them or to pray for them, we should pray fervently. You know, fervent prayer is how we access God's power. In fact, a powerful prayer life is a common component in the lives of those that God's used.

Speaker 2: 5:14

Look at Abraham. He was a man of prayer and he was seen constantly communicating with God and ever interceding for people, always Moses and the prophetsing for people. Always Moses and the prophets. They were people of prayer. When Christ began preparing and teaching his disciples, he constantly emphasized their need to pray. I mean, he taught them the Lord's Prayer at least twice, in Matthew 6 and Luke 11. People, you know what in the book of Acts. On that great day they prayed in the upper room and the Holy Spirit fell on all of them at Pentecost. That was fervent prayer. See, prayer can move the hand of God in situations where we think there's no hope. Prayer is a vital key that connects us with our Heavenly Father. Prayer is crying out to God out of the depths. It's the pouring out of our soul before God, a big, fervent prayer.

Speaker 2: 6:10

You know, peter, apostle Peter, was in prison awaiting execution and there wasn't anyone with the power to help him Not earthly power, that is. But then there was earthly help or heavenly help. These people gave themselves, the church gave themselves over to fervent prayer and they prayed. And you know what? God sent his angel and he woke Peter from his sleep and he led him out through the first and the second wards of the prison and then, when they got to the iron gate, it popped open and Peter was free. You see, my friends, prayer, fervent prayer, has divided seas. It's rolled up rivers. It's made rocks into fountains, quenched flames of fire, muzzled lions, stopped vipers and poisons. It burst open iron gates, people. It conquered the strongest devils and it brought legions of angels down from heaven. See, fervent prayer brought one man from the bottom of the sea and carried another one in the chariot of fire to heaven and, on a personal note, it lifted me from a 20-plus year walk toward the pits of hell.

Speaker 2: 7:20

Friends, the question we need to ask is what prayer hasn't done, you know? And when we go to God in fervent prayer, we're putting our whole self, all of our attention, our minds, our will, all of our emotions on what we are praying about. See, we need to seek God's prayer, god's plan for our prayer life. There's so many levels of prayer, and God knows where each of us are in our prayer lives, see, and he'll honor even the most pitifulest little prayer ever a person offers in faith, if this is all they know to do. But, see, he does want us to move to a greater level of faith and prayer, and that's why the best way to progress is to simply ask God, ask Him to teach you to pray powerfully and pray effective prayers.

Speaker 2: 8:11

See, to pray favorably is to pray with intensity, fueled by the Holy Spirit, led by the Holy Spirit, and it could be any kind of prayer. Someone could be immensely thankful for things maybe deeply in need or going through spiritual warfare, which is what a lot of us are doing right now, or people praying for family, for lost loved ones and for our brothers and sisters in Christ. You know, part of a Christian life is praying for brothers and sisters in Christ. The Apostle Paul encouraged believers to be kindly affectionate one to another with brotherly love, rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing instant in prayer. Rejoice with them that rejoice and weep with them that weep. Romans 12, 10, 12, and 15. See, we as Christians, we should be passionate about the blessings and the trials and the temptations of our brothers and sisters as much as we are our own.

Speaker 2: 9:14

Reverent prayer people is not just praying loudly, though it can be a part of it, but it's a prayer that's sincere, that's reaching out to the Lord, that's led by the Holy Spirit and friends. The greatest impact we can have on the kingdom of God is on our knees, laboring fervently for others and for the church. See, paul was a giant in the kingdom because he was a giant in prayer and friends. We need to examine our prayer lives and follow Paul's fervent, faithful example. See, maintaining a strong prayer life is hard. It's a struggle, sometimes it's even tears and agony, but, see, we need a great intensity in our prayers. I know my prayers are weak, I'm not going to say they're not compared to those of Jesus and Paul and Anna and many more. But see, we can't just pray to get things from God. Instead, we need to be less of our old self and pray and labor fervently and pray for others in the kingdom of God. You know, I have other examples of fervent prayer.

Speaker 2: 10:14

There's 1 Samuel, which told Hannah's story. Hannah was the mother of Samuel, who she had a big, big desire to be a faithful servant to the Lord, but she also had a desire to be a mother. And it was because of God's favor and her fervent prayer that Samuel was born. And see, samuel was going to become one of the most greatest prophets of the Old Testament. It is said that his discernment and accuracy in hearing the Lord's words were without compare. Nothing could compare to it. 1 Samuel 3 and 19 tells us that Samuel never let any of God's words fall to the ground. See 1 Samuel 1, 13 and 15 says that Hannah prayed so fervently and wept and poured out her soul before the Lord that only her lips moved. No words could be heard. And a high priest, eli, that was at a bypost at the temple of the Lord, thought she had come to the temple drunk.

Speaker 2: 11:15

I mean, that's crying out to the Lord and people. Don't be afraid to pour out your heart to the one who made it. He already knows. He already knows. He already knows what's on your heart, he knows what's in your mind. He just wants to hear you ask him. And you know.

Speaker 2: 11:29

Billy Graham once said that heaven is full of answers to prayers that nobody has even thought to ask. You know, when we pray, people, we should do it with all of our heart and all of our mind. Pour ourselves out to God. Let His Spirit pour back into us. Every prayer meeting, even prayer meetings, is powerful Praying with other Christians. You know, god said where there were two or three gathered in His name, he was one in the midst. And, friends, we can come before God. When we come before God in forever prayer, we have to have a heart open to the mighty work that he will do. We have to believe.

Speaker 2: 12:07

Like I said, the fruits of fervent prayer can be life-changing Good people. God wants us to pray to Him. When Jesus taught the disciples to pray, he didn't say if you pray, he said when you pray, and when we pray fervently, lives will be changed. Look at some of the ones recorded in the Word of God. The Holy Spirit was given in Acts 8, 14 through 17. The dead was raised in Acts 9, 39 through 41. And all through the Word of God, people were healed. All through the Word of God, people got up and walked, limbs were grown, ears were opened, eyes were opened. All through the Word of God, people were healed through fervent prayer.

Speaker 2: 12:51

Now, god doesn't ask us to be drama queens or kings. He simply wants us to focus on the one true God. He wants our prayers to be fervent, heartfelt and filled with compassion. See, people, the God that gave Hannah a child, that very God that closed the mouths of lions for Daniel and transformed David from a shepherd boy to a king, he's right there. He's right there, ready and willing to help all of us. All we have to do is reach out to him and ask. Psalms 34 and 17 says the righteous cry and the Lord hear it and deliver it them from all their troubles.

Speaker 2: 13:34

Friends, we should be fervent when it comes to our prayer. We need to spend time alone with God. If it was important for Jesus, how much more is it for us. We can't pray effectively in a busy spot. Yeah, there's times when we pray with others, with our family, our church and our friends, but I'm talking about moments alone, when you get alone with the Lord. When Jesus wanted to talk to his Father, he always went to a mountain or a garden. See, we need to find a quiet place, free from distractions.

Speaker 2: 14:05

You know, seek forgiveness, ask God to forgive you for all the sins. Seek forgiveness and forgive those who've wronged you and then speak to God. Speak to the Lord, just let your presence be known, because he's already there. God is already there, waiting. He's waiting for your heart to come into tune with his. Pour out your heart to the one who loves you the most people, and then listen, listen with your mind, listen with your spirit and open up your heart.

Speaker 2: 14:37

See, there's several other examples. An example of fervent prayer shown in Daniel 10. Daniel fasted and remained in fervent prayer for 21 days and God answered. Another one is Elijah. You know, elijah prayed fervently that it wouldn't rain, and it didn't for three and a half years. Then he prayed again and it rained and the land gave its great harvest. See that drought they were going through was punishment for Israel's worship of Baal. But see Elijah. The Lord answered Elijah's fervent prayer and people, probably the best example, fervent prayer.

Speaker 2: 15:11

Jesus gives us his best, his longest recorded prayer in John 17. You know, we brothers and sisters, in order for us to see a move of God, we need to be a fervent prayer, we need to pray. We want to be greatly used by God. We must be people of prayer, not people of talent, not people of wealth, not people of influence. We need to be people of talent, not people of wealth, not people of influence. We need to be people of prayer. When Jesus sought to reach the world, he raised up the apostles to be men committed to prayer. Are you willing to pray fervently? God's seeking people to stand in the gap, people who will pray, and because of those prayers he will move and he'll save people. God's looking for prayer warriors Because, see friends, prayer is a wonderful privilege and God has opened the door of His throne and His throne room and he's invited His children in to enter in His presence with their petitions Hebrews 4 and 16.

Speaker 2: 16:18

And we may pray a lot, but do we pray for one another? We may pray for our own needs, our burdens, but how much time do we really spend praying for others Right now? Right here around us, there are people who are facing life-threatening illnesses. We should be praying fervently for these people. We should be touching heaven for these people. There are others that are lost in sin, wayward people, homeless. There's homeless right here around us. We should be touching heaven for these people. And there are others struggling with problems, needs and burdens, family problems, issues going on in their families, divorces, people. We should be touching heaven for these people.

Speaker 2: 16:58

See, if the Holy Spirit tells you to pray for something or somebody, don't wait, do it, pray forever. I mean, you may not know why, just do it and in time you're likely going to hear that God used you to change somebody's life. See, people, the world around us is going crazy, but we have a God that can help us all be overcomers. We just have to pray for one another. There's so much that the prayer of the righteous can do and it fails much. It can move mountains, it produces reactions from heaven. And this kind of effective, fervent prayer is not just reserved for the extraordinary few. It's within reach of every single believer. You know, it's not the goodness or the worthiness of the one who prays that makes them different. It's the Heavenly Father's grace and power.

Speaker 2: 17:55

People, we need to be able to get a hold of the Lord. The only way is to go to God in prayer, in fervent prayer. We need to seek God, we need to call on God by faith. We need to look beyond our own needs and lift up those around us who are in need. We need to pray and pray fervently until we see a move of the Lord. Friends, I'm telling you, something happens when God's people praise. You know, something happens when God's people praise. So let's pray and let's see what happens. Friends, we need to cast aside all of our doubt and be bold and approach the throne of grace. You know, let's devote ourselves to more prayer and through it we can access God's. Devote ourselves to more prayer and through it we can access God's limitless love and mercy. Let's do more, forever praying, believing that its potential is to yield life-changing results. People, we need to doubt less, pray big and worry less and pray more.

Speaker 2: 19:05

You know, I've got a prayer I want to. I've got a story I want to tell you before I go. This is not more of a fervent prayer, but it is a powerful prayer. I want to tell you about a man. I know this is an effectual, fervent prayer, but today I want to talk about a powerful prayer. It's a powerful prayer that if you pray it and you sincerely mean it, it could probably change your whole life around, transform you.

Speaker 2: 19:29

And this prayer that I'm talking about it's not written in the Bible, but it was written on the Bible. It was scribbled on a leaf of a Bible owned by a man whose heart broke when he encountered the suffering, the hunger and poverty of orphans in Asia. His name was Bob Pierce. In 1947, working as an evangelist for a ministry called Youth for Christ, he was holding revivals in China. He was likened to a young Billy Graham. So in China, he was going around China and he met a battered and abandoned little girl and his heart. It touched his heart. So he began praying and talking to the Lord and he emptied his pockets of his last $5, and he agreed to send this sum each month to help take care of this little girl. And then it wasn't long before he realized that it was just a drop in a bucket, as he encountered thousands upon thousands of orphans in his travels.

Speaker 2: 20:25

So soon afterwards he was sitting back in his room one day and he was talking to the Lord and he scribbled this prayer on the leaf of his Bible. He said, lord, let my heart be broken by the things that breaks the heart of God. And you know what people. God answered his prayer and this is a very powerful prayer. I guess you have to wonder and ask yourself can you pray it? If you do pray it, you know it's going to change your life. It will open up your ears and open up your eyes to see and your ears to hear.

Speaker 2: 20:57

And I don't think it's a prayer that's going to be for the faint of heart, because when we open up our ears and eyes and we pray that prayer, we're going to see that Jesus is in every hungry, thirsty, sick, impoverished, addicted person that we will ever encounter. He closely identifies with the valuable or the least of these. And I don't know what will break your heart if you pray this prayer, but you know it may be abuse, it may be racial injustice, it may be addiction or it may be hunger. I know your heart may break for those who've never known the deep love and peace of Christ in their lives, but as we begin to see the needs and feel the suffering, our hearts will break with God's, and this is probably not always easy because, you know, truly following Jesus was never meant to be a cushy endeavor anyway. But this prayer will break you out of your pursuit of ease. You will be thrust into God's work and into the calling and purpose for which God created. You See, god's heart is one of compassion and it breaks over all of us. I don't know what will break your heart if you pray this prayer, but ask God to give you a new heart, one of flesh and one of compassion.

Speaker 2: 22:14

And then watch out. Your faith is going to meet life and it may be in the form of your neighbors needing help with a bill or just needing food and clothing. It may be feeding the homeless. It may be the security suffering on the other side of the world. The needs are everywhere, people, especially right here, right in our own front doors. You may even join with others to make an even bigger impact. You may even join with others to make an even bigger impact. I don't know what will break your heart if you pray with this prayer, but I truly believe that if you mean this prayer and you pray it, like Bob Pierce did, sincerely, and listen to the spirit, nudges and promptings, I believe your life will never be the same. And this is just powerful prayers.

Speaker 2: 22:58

This man, you know, he tells us what breaks God's heart. And God's heart breaks for all of his children, you know, for those who helped those who he's loved all of his whole life and those who's never known him. It breaks for sin, for disease, for loss, for grief, pain, confusion and struggle of his children and of the world. It breaks for the ways that his children and of the world. It breaks for the ways that his own creation rejects him.

Speaker 2: 23:25

See, in a world as broken and sinful and hurtful as ours, god's heart breaks every day for so many things and if we ask God to really break our heart for what breaks his, we're going to experience a lot of intense realities. People, we're going to experience a lot of broken people and broken circumstances. We're going to see situations where hope seems non-existent and God seems so far away. We will endure hardships, we will and we will weep with creation. You know I'm sorry, but people, we will also experience broken and hurting people. Our eyes will be open to those who are lost. We will encounter people who need God more than we could ever imagine, but who are so far away from Him that it will seem impossible in our human eyes ever imagine, but who are so far away from Him that it will seem impossible in our human eyes. Our hearts will break for those who refuse to accept the gift of grace and freedom that God offers. We will see people who are abused and persecuted and oppressed in ways that we've never encountered before. We're going to meet devastating realities. If our heart breaks like God's does, we will experience the harsh realities of this world. We will experience the grief and the brokenness of creation, but we will also see the glory of God. We're going to see how he enters in where there's no hope and he brings light. How he enters into broken homes and broken families, broken sons and daughters, and he restores them. We're going to see all of that. We're going to see every bit of that if we pray these powerful prayers. And Bob Pierce. Back to Bob Pierce.

Speaker 2: 25:09

After dragging a camera across Asia, he shared photographs of children that he met with congregations back in the United States, and you know what people he encouraged others to sponsor one In 1950, he incorporated the effort as a nonprofit organization called World Vision. They're in nearly 100 countries worldwide and support 3.5 million vulnerable children. Just helping a little girl with $5 and faith. He also founded Samaritan's Purse and he died in 1978 of leukemia. He helped Franklin Graham support Samaritan's Purse. One powerful prayer, one powerful prayer is all it took. And look, look what he accomplished. But he had faith and he stepped out and he prayed that powerful prayer.

Speaker 2: 25:55

People, I'm going to leave you with this. On a scale from 1 to 10, I'm going to leave you with this On a scale from 1 to 10, I'm going to ask you this question On a scale from 1 to 10, 1 being horrible, 10 being perfect how would God rate your prayer life? Just think about that. If the good Lord was standing in front of you right now and you ask him Lord, how would you rate my prayer life? What's he going to tell you? Just think about it and ask yourself that question. Would you write my prayer life? What's he going to tell you? Just think about it and ask yourself that question.

Speaker 2: 26:22

Because, see, fervent prayer, people, means that we don't quit easily. Fervent prayer means that we spend sufficient time with God. It means we cry out to God. It means we commit ourselves to prayer and you know what? When we do that, there's no limit to what we're going to see God do. And when we do that, there's no limit to what we're going to see God do. When we give ourselves over to fervent prayer, there's no limit to the power of God that you're going to have in your hands. I hope and pray that somebody, somewhere, got something out of this today. I hope people are listening and I hope you understood, and I hope this has blessed you as much as it's blessed me to bring it to you Everybody. Please, please, come back next week for Bible Talk with Sister Deb. You can find me on OsborneDebraK at gmailcom. You can get my phone number at 606-909-0256. Bless you People. Just pray that favorite prayer. Bless everybody and I'll see you next week, lord's willing.

Speaker 1: 27:38

Thank you. Hey, you're listening to Bible Talk with Sister Deb Osborne. You can listen to the show on WUIC 88.1 Christian Radio Station every Sunday at 5 pm. You can also listen to her show and much, much more on the 421 Show podcast. For contact information, you can email Sister Deb at OsborneDebraKay at gmailcom. If you'd like to support the show, you can support it through PayPal. Slash HOR421show or HOR421showbuzzsproutcom. All shows are recorded live no post editing recorded at the 421 studio. For contact information for all your studio needs, you can email at hor421ministries at gmailcom. Phone number is 239-849-1502. Thank you.