May 3, 2026
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James 5:16 tells us: “…The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.” The King James version says it this way: “…The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”
The phrase “effectual fervent” in the Greek is “energeo,” pronounced “en-erg-eh’-o,” which means to be active, efficient, to be mighty in, or to work with great effect. The word “fervent” means intense. The idea of “efficient” would mean it does not need to be a lengthy prayer to work with great effect.
The Greek word for “availeth” is “ischuo,” pronounced “is-khoo’-o,” which means to have or to exercise force or might, to prevail, to be of strength, to be able to do much work.
So, James is telling us that a righteous man’s active, efficient prayer expressed with intensity or great energy will exercise great force and strength and will prevail by accomplishing much work.
There are many examples in the Bible of effectual fervent prayer. Last week we talked about the Apostle Paul’s prayer for us in Ephesians 3:14-19 in which he asked God that we would be able to comprehend by the Holy Spirit the otherwise incomprehensible magnitude of Jesus’ love for us. He got on his knees before the Father and asked Him to grant us according to His riches in glory, the strength and power of the Holy Spirit, in the inner man, so that Christ, who is the word of God, may dwell in our hearts through faith. I think it is safe to say this is an effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man and it availeth much.
Another Effectual Prayer
Today’s word of the Lord focuses on another awesome prayer in the scriptures, this time from King Solomon. First, here is a little context about Solomon from 2nd Samuel and 1st Kings.
Solomon was the son of King David, and he ascended to the throne as king over the combined kingdom of Israel and Judah at the end of King David’s reign. Solomon was born to David and Bathsheba shortly after the death of their first son, who was conceived out of wedlock. 2nd Samuel 12:24 tells us the Lord loved Solomon.
Solomon was just twenty years old when he ascended to the throne as king, and frankly he was a little overwhelmed by the responsibility. That brings us to 1st Kings 3 and the prayer of Solomon.
1st Kings 3:
4 And the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, for that was the great high place; Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings on that altar.
5 ¶ In Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream at night; and God said, “Ask what [you wish] me to give you.”
6 Then Solomon said, “Thou hast shown great lovingkindness to Thy servant David my father, according as he walked before Thee in truth and righteousness and uprightness of heart toward Thee; and Thou hast reserved for him this great lovingkindness, that Thou hast given him a son to sit on his throne, as [it is] this day.
7 “And now, O LORD my God, Thou hast made Thy servant king in place of my father David, yet I am but a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in.
8 “And Thy servant is in the midst of Thy people which Thou hast chosen, a great people who cannot be numbered or counted for multitude.
9 “So give Thy servant an understanding heart to judge Thy people to discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of Thine?”
10 And it was pleasing in the sight of the Lord that Solomon had asked this thing.
Verse 10 encompasses the word of the Lord this week. This prayer was pleasing to the Lord because Solomon was expressing his desire to do the work of the Lord and righteously judge the people of Israel. He asked for wisdom and an understanding heart to discern between good and evil.
What amazes me is that he prayed this in his sleep because God appeared to him in a dream. When we dream, our souls (mind, will, and emotions) are still at work. Solomon expressed his desire to do God’s work. Even though Solomon was sleeping, the Lord engaged him, and he prayed an effectual fervent prayer, and as we will see, this prayer availeth much.
1st Kings 3:
11 And God said to him, “Because you have asked this thing and have not asked for yourself long life, nor have asked riches for yourself, nor have you asked for the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself discernment to understand justice,
12 behold, I have done according to your words. Behold, I have given you a wise and discerning heart, so that there has been no one like you before you, nor shall one like you arise after you.
13 “And I have also given you what you have not asked, both riches and honor, so that there will not be any among the kings like you all your days.
14 “And if you walk in My ways, keeping My statutes and commandments, as your father David walked, then I will prolong your days.”
15 Then Solomon awoke, and behold, it was a dream. And he came to Jerusalem and stood before the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and offered burnt offerings and made peace offerings, and made a feast for all his servants.
God was so moved by Solomon’s humble, unselfish prayer that He granted his request and gave him a “wise and discerning heart” (verse 12).
But what stands out to me is in verse 13. God promised to give Solomon even what he did not ask for – riches and honor to such an extent that he would be the greatest of kings on earth during his lifetime if he walked in God’s ways.
Solomon’s Prayer Accomplished Much
James 5:16 says the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much, and we see that play out during the reign of King Solomon.
1st Kings 4:
29 ¶ Now God gave Solomon wisdom and very great discernment and breadth of mind, like the sand that is on the seashore.
30 And Solomon’s wisdom surpassed the wisdom of all the sons of the east and all the wisdom of Egypt.
31 For he was wiser than all men, than Ethan the Ezrahite, Heman, Calcol and Darda, the sons of Mahol; and his fame was [known] in all the surrounding nations.
32 He also spoke 3,000 proverbs, and his songs were 1,005.
1st Kings 6:
1 ¶ Now it came about in the four hundred and eightieth year after the sons of Israel came out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv which is the second month, that he began to build the house of the LORD.
1st Kings 6:
38 And in the eleventh year, in the month of Bul, which is the eighth month, the house was finished throughout all its parts and according to all its plans. So he was seven years in building it.
1st Kings 7 tells us that in addition to building the temple of the Lord, Solomon brought in Huram, a master craftsman, to build a palace complex that included the king’s own residence, a separate house for his wife, and the House of Forest of Lebanon, which was an armory for storing weapons. In addition, he built the Hall of Pillars, which served as a porch to the armory and an entrance to the Hall of Judgment, which was the public’s access to the king and served as a supreme court of appeal. A great courtyard connected all the buildings of the complex.
These buildings were large, tremendous structures built with the finest materials of the day, and they were all well-furnished. Upon completion, Solomon said a prayer of dedication asking the Lord to hear the supplications of the people when they prayed in the temple. In 1st Kings 9, God appeared to Solomon once again and assured him that he heard his prayer of dedication, and He therefore consecrated the buildings.
In addition to great wisdom and an obvious talent to design and build these great structures, God also fulfilled His promise to give Solomon great riches and honor.
1st Kings 10:
14 ¶ Now the weight of gold which came in to Solomon in one year [was] 666 talents of gold,
15 besides [that] from the traders and the wares of the merchants and all the kings of the Arabs and the governors of the country.
Solomon’s annual income was an astounding figure. A talent is a measure of weight that is roughly equivalent to 75 pounds, meaning he was receiving about 50,000 pounds of gold per year. AI tells me that, at today’s value of gold, 50,000 pounds would approximate $3.4 billion per year. Keep in mind that this does not even count the profit he made on the trading of goods with the Arab kings.
So, I think we can say that the effectual prayer of this righteous man availeth much, even if that man was sleeping when he prayed.
Lessons for Us
Unfortunately, we know that Solomon did not finish well. Despite God’s faithfulness to answer prayer, King Solomon violated the Lord’s statutes by taking many wives from nations that served other gods. Solomon suffered grave consequences for his disobedience.
Despite the sad ending to his reign, we can nevertheless take lessons from King Solomon’s prayers and the faithfulness of God to answer them. Here are a few suggestions for building an effectual fervent prayer life.
- Seek First the Kingdom
Matthew 6:
31 “Do not be anxious then, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘With what shall we clothe ourselves?’
32 “For all these things the Gentiles eagerly seek; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.
33 “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you.
1st John 5:
14 ¶ And this is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.
15 And if we know that He hears us [in] whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him.
Solomon was kingdom-minded with his prayer. He did not ask for riches. He wanted wisdom and understanding so that he could be a fair and effective judge over God’s people. He sought first God’s Kingdom and righteousness, and all the other things, including riches and honor, were added to Him. King Solomon’s prayer was aligned with God’s will.
- If You Need Wisdom, Ask God
James 1:
5 But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all men generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.
When you think about it, most of the issues we face would be solved if we had wisdom. We ask for a financial blessing, when we just need wisdom to know God’s will for our lives. That wisdom will also provide finances. Often, we fail to realize that what we really lack is wisdom.
The young 20-year-old King Solomon knew what he didn’t know. In his prayer, he told God: “…I am but a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in.” He knew he lacked wisdom, so he asked God for it, and the Lord granted it generously.
- Wisdom is Granted to the Humble
Proverbs 11:
2 ¶ When pride comes, then comes dishonor, But with the humble is wisdom.
Proverbs 9:
10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
Luke 18:
9 ¶ And He also told this parable to certain ones who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and viewed others with contempt:
10 “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee, and the other a tax-gatherer.
11 “The Pharisee stood and was praying thus to himself, ‘God, I thank Thee that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax-gatherer.
12 ‘I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.’
13 “But the tax-gatherer, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’
14 “I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself shall be humbled, but he who humbles himself shall be exalted.”
King Solomon humbled himself in his prayer, and God exalted him.
Let us pray.
Father God, thank You for the life of Solomon and the many lessons that we can learn from his relationship with You. Lord, help us to pray as we should, with an emphasis on serving Your Kingdom, not ours. We pray not for riches, nor long life, nor the death of our enemies. Instead, we pray simply for wisdom to discern Your will in serving the Gospel. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
If anyone has not yet received the Lord Jesus Christ in their heart, and desires to do so, please repeat this prayer after me:
Father God, I repent of my sin and ask for forgiveness today. I confess and declare with my mouth that Jesus is Lord, and I believe with all my heart that You raised Him from the dead for the forgiveness of sins. Jesus, please come into my heart and change me. Send the Holy Spirit to guide and direct me in wisdom and to enable me to overcome temptation from this day forth. Thank You for my salvation. I look forward to the day of the Rapture when I can be with You forever. Amen.
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